A Leap Into Destiny
by Malcolm Merlyn
Summary: Post-Mirror Image. After years of leaping about through time, Sam Beckett finds himself faced with his greatest enemy and his final destiny. Will he endure and make the necessary sacrifices for those he loves... or be lost forever in the sands of time?
1. Hostage Crisis

**A Leap Into Destiny**

Disclaimer: Donald Bellisario and NBC own Quantum Leap.

_Hostage Crisis_

For as many years as he could remember, Sam Beckett had leaped about through time and space, setting right what once went wrong.

It all started that one fateful day when he made himself the experimental guinea pig in Project Quantum Leap, testing his theories on time travel, and more specifically, the String Theory. The project had turned out to be more of a success than he anticipated. His body was sent hurtling through time and with it, he experienced acute memory loss which was slowly restored to him thanks to the efforts of his best friend, Al.

He had journeyed through the landscape of America and a few other countries, engaging in countless missions to help those in need. Along the way, he had encountered mobsters, priests, single mothers, biker gangs, and Confederate generals. And he had, on occasion, even become some of those people during his leaps.

Three years had passed since one of the most important leaps he had ever made, the leap where he saved the marriage of his best friend, Al Calavicci. Now, however, he was in a situation he hadn't been in before. As the blue aura faded away, Sam Beckett stood before a museum in police uniform.

"Sir, what do we do now?" another police officer asked him.

"I, uh…" Sam was confused.

"This hostage crisis, it's gotta end somehow," the officer went on, thankfully providing more details and sparing Sam any potential embarrassment.

"Right," Sam tried to state authoritatively. "We have to get in there and get those people out."

"Good thing I caught up with you just in time," a voice behind Sam startled him.

"Al!" Sam turned around to the sight of the familiar and welcome sight of the holographic image.

"Al?" the fellow officer asked.

"I meant 'ow,'" Sam replied. "I think I tweaked a muscle earlier. It's gotten really sore."

"Your name is Officer Joe Cassidy," Al informed the Leaper. "And this is May 16, 1987 in Denver, Colorado. You're in the middle of a hostage crisis. The guy inside's got an entire class of children in there. What goes down eventually isn't going to be pretty."

"Then I gotta stop it somehow," Sam whispered.

"Hey Joe," another officer came up. "Frank wants to speak to you!"

"Frank?" Sam was confused.

"The one in there holding those kids hostages," the second officer looked at Sam with a funny look. "Are you feeling alright? You're not spacing out on us or anything, are you?"

"No, no," Sam shook his head. "It's just that it's been a long day and my head's a little woozy, that's all."

With that, Sam began walking away.

"Uh sir," the officer called after him, "the phone booth is to your left."

"Right… right," Sam turned around as quickly as he could.

"Frank Schaeffer," Al walked alongside Sam as he headed to the phone booth, "the man's a real nutjob. From the files we have on him, he's a real career criminal, always getting into trouble for robbery, theft, kidnapping, and assault. Unfortunately, this is the day he's going to add murder to that list."

"And with children no less," Sam said in disgust.

Walking into the phone booth, Sam picked up the phone.

"This is Officer Cassidy," he said.

"I was hoping you'd answer," the voice on the other side sent a chill down Sam's spine. "I was almost getting tired of waiting."

"What is it you want?" demanded Sam.

"The hostage money I wanted, is it coming or not?" Frank demanded.

"Hostage money isn't going to buy the freedom of those kids," Al informed Sam. "He'll take the money and leave behind a trail of bodies."

Sam held the phone away from his mouth and turned to Al in desperation.

"What do I say?" he asked frantically.

"Tell him the money is coming in ten minutes," Al replied.

"The money will arrive soon," Sam told Frank Schaeffer. "Give it ten minutes."

"Gee, I don't know if I can wait ten minutes," the man replied.

"Please," Sam beseeched. "You're getting what you want, aren't you?"

"Well, I suppose I am," Frank smiled on the other side of the line.

"Now if you don't mind, let's discuss the release of the hostages," Sam requested.

"Very well," Frank Schaffer acquiesced. "I'll tell you what. I'm going to release some of these kids."

"Some?" asked Sam.

"I'll be keeping a few others with me as bargaining chips," Schaeffer said calmly. "Now listen carefully, place the money at the front of the museum. Once it's there, I'll take the money and let some of those kids go."

"And then?" Sam demanded.

"Then I take off in my getaway car behind the museum with the remaining children," Frank was unphased by the edge in Sam's voice. "But don't worry, there's a gas station five blocks down. You are not to pursue me for the first five minutes. After that, you will find the rest of the children safe and sound at the station of Fish Street."

"Alright," promised Sam. "We'll do as you say."

"Good, don't disappoint me," Frank hung up.

"Al, what's going to happen exactly?" Sam turned to the holographic projection.

Al Calavicci dialed a few buttons on the handheld device he had before coming up with a correct projection.

"It ain't good, Sam," answered Al. "Unfortunately, along the way, those four kids don't make it out alive. Their bodies are dumped at the gas station where Frank said they would be."

"Then even if we give him what he wants, he'll still spill blood," Sam bit down on his teeth angrily.

"I'm going to go check the perimeters of the museum," Al promised. "Then I'll go inside to see the status of those kids. There may be a way inside. Ziggy is telling me there's an eighty nine percent chance that you're here to go inside that museum and rescue those kids. You hang tight and I'll be right back with the info."

"Thanks Al," Sam was somewhat relieved.

Al nodded and disappeared.

After Sam stepped outside, one of the officers under his charge came up to him.

"Sir, what will we do?" the officer asked. "How are we going to respond to his demands?"

"We'll give him what he wants," Sam replied. "But as soon as some of those children are released, I've got another solution."

"He's agreed to release the hostages?" the officer looked hopeful.

"Only some," Sam continued. "He told me he was going to drive off with the rest and release them at a gas station five blocks down Fish Street."

"Great, Schaeffer gets his money and gets away," the officer frowned.

"Hey, the important thing is that we save lives," Sam reminded his junior officer. "And right now, this is the only way to do it."

oooo

The police officer, who had been with Sam earlier, knocked on the tall doors of the museum and placed a suitcase directly in front of them. He then stepped away from the marble steps and took out his speaker phone.

"Frank Schaeffer," the officer announced. "We've brought you the money as promised. Now release the hostages as you promised."

Several moments of silence ensued before the door opened up. A young redhead boy around the age of twelve stepped out first.

The police looked on warily, wondering if he was going to release the other hostages or not.

The young boy quickly picked up the suitcase and took it back inside. Fortunately for Frank, he had been thorough enough to make sure he'd gotten what he wanted first before fulfilling his end of the bargain.

Slowly, the door opened up again as several children came out, running forward to the police who helped to shield them and reunite them with the parents and teachers who were there at the standoff.

"Where's Arthur?" a concerned mother looked on. "He isn't out. Is he alright?!"

"I'm sorry ma'am," the officer shook his head. "That psycho didn't release all the kids. He's still keeping some inside as bargaining chips."

Standing there ruefully, the cops could only wait and hope for the best.

"Hey wait a minute," one of the policemen looked around. "Where's Cassidy?"

oooo

"You know Al, when you told me there was a way in, I thought you meant there was an open door somewhere in the back," Sam gritted his teeth.

With his body tightly installed into the ventilation system, Sam made his way slowly through the air vents, hoping and praying that he wouldn't make enough noise to attract the madman's attention.

"This is the right way Sam," Al promised. "Ziggy told me there was a ninety eight percent chance that this would be your ticket in to stopping that guy cold."

After crawling for what seemed like several minutes, Sam stopped as he saw an open grill in front of him, leading to what appeared to be an office room.

"Down there is the curator's office," Al told Sam. "You'll want to drop off here."

"Okay then," Sam quickly got to work unfastening the grill from the air vent he was in.

Within moments, he had leaped down.

"Alright Al, what next?" asked Sam.

"Hang on, let me go see what Schaeffer is up to," Al told him. "Just to make sure the kids are alright."

Al quickly fixed his position to Schaffer's location and disappeared, leaving Sam waiting in the room.

Sam took a deep breath. The stakes were high now that children were involved. He shuddered to think what would happen if Al's three daughters were ever involved in a hostage situation such as this. It was exactly as the bartender named Al had said all those years ago. His leaps were getting tougher and tougher.

Incidentally, when he had changed history to make sure Al got back together with Beth, Al had never found out about it. The immediate change to the time-space continuum ensured that Al's only memories were that he had always been with Beth. The previous timeline where Beth had separated from Al was for all intents and purposes erased. And the only person who knew about it was Sam Beckett himself.

Looking around, Sam took notice of some papers lying there. Out of curiosity he picked them up.

"New artifact for the history exhibit," Sam read aloud. "A centuries old hourglass was discovered in Britain. It is believed to have been created sometime in the late 400s to 500s during the era known to posterity as the Dark Ages."

Sam put the papers down.

"Interesting," Sam mused. "Imagine if I could travel back to those times…"

His daydreaming was interrupted soon enough by the re-emergence of Al.

"Got good news and bad news," Al announced.

"Give it to me straight Al," requested Sam.

"The good news is, those kids are still safe for the moment," Al replied.

"And the bad news?"

"Those remaining kids with Schaeffer… they still lose their lives."

"What do I need to do?" asked Sam.

"Frank Schaeffer is with those kids at the history exhibit," Al answered. "If you go down the hall to your left and then make a right, Ziggy estimates there's a ninety six percent chance you'll get the drop on him."

"I'll take those odds," Sam agreed.

oooo

"When do we get to go?" demanded Elizabeth.

Frank Schaeffer took count. There were only four kids left. It wasn't quite a full classroom but it was still enough to give him bargaining power.

"I'll let you go soon enough," promised Frank, opening up his suitcase.

"You got what you wanted so why keep us waiting?" demanded Arthur, a young boy with brown hair and a Batman t-shirt.

"Don't push your luck kid," Schaeffer pointed a gun at him. "You don't want me to change my mind."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Frank Schaeffer continued to examine his money. In the hallways right before the room, Sam kneeled down as Al's hologram passed through after having entered the room.

"So what caused this guy to take their lives?" whispered Sam.

"I don't know," Al confessed. "I haven't found all the facts with Ziggy yet but this guy got what he wanted. What does he have to prove by committing cold-blooded murder?"

"What the Hell?" Frank Schaeffer screamed, causing Al and Sam to take notice.

"This is counterfeit money!" Schaeffer raged. "So this is how it's going to be, huh?"

"Uh oh, Sam," Al felt a chill down his spine. "I think we have our reason why this guy decided to show no mercy to the remaining hostages."

"All of you get up!" Frank ordered the remaining child hostages.

Left with no choice, all of them got up at his command.

"Alright kids, we're going for a ride just like I promised," Schaeffer smiled. "And we're going to teach the cops a lesson for trying to gyp me."

"Oh no Sam," Al looked at his handheld device. "He's gonna do it."

Sam got up but Al quickly motioned for him to stay still.

"You stay put where you are," Al said to his friend. "He can't see me. I'll let you know when's the right time to lay into him."

Standing in front of the history exhibit entrance, Al watched carefully as Schaeffer herded the kids together and walked towards the entrance.

"Wait for it Sam," Al told Sam who remained hidden. "He's coming out in five, four, three, two…"

Taking his first step outside, Schaeffer raised his gun with his right hand.

"Now Sam!" yelled Al.

From the side, Sam leaped into action, taking Schaeffer completely by surprise. He grabbed the man's arm and twisted it down across his own shoulder, forcing Frank to drop the gun.

"Agh!" screamed Frank as his arm was bent.

Sam Beckett slammed his elbow into Frank's stomach and then unloaded on the kidnapper by turning around and punching him hard enough to knock the man back.

As Sam closed in on him, Schaeffer got up and punched Sam across the jaw, making the physicist see stars. Frank grabbed Sam by the shoulders and kneed him in the gut, knocking the breath out of him. Not letting go, Frank then jerked Sam back and threw him into one of the artifacts, knocking over a glass display of a 18th century telescope. As Sam fell to the floor, Frank took out his knife.

"Ready for a gutting, pig?" Frank smiled sadistically.

Sam grabbed the telescope and readied himself. He hated to cause damage to such a priceless artifact but right now he needed some means of defending himself.

Frank slashed at him but Sam blocked the weapon with the telescope and punched Frank viciously across the jaw. He swung back the other way and clobbered Schaeffer across the head with the telescope, forcing the criminal to drop his knife.

With Frank now dazed, Sam swung around, catching the man across the face with a spin kick that sent him crashing into another display, this time knocking over what appeared to be an hourglass encased inside a glass case.

The hourglass fell to the floor, shattering as all of its sandy inward contents came pouring out across the floor.

Frank Schaeffer groaned before finally falling into unconsciousness.

"Attaboy, Sam!" Al congratulated his friend and colleague.

oooo

"What you did took guts," the police officer congratulated Sam. "You took down Frank Schaeffer and best of all, there were no casualties."

By now, the police had come inside to arrest the unconscious Schaeffer.

"I'm just glad we were able to save the lives of those kids," admitted Sam. "But I have to say, I'm a little disappointed some of these artifacts were damaged in our fight."

"Hey, what are a few old hunks of junk compared to human lives?" the officer patted Sam on the back. "The museum will understand."

One of the boys who had been held captive, Arthur, ran over to Sam.

"Thanks Officer Cassidy," Arthur told Sam. "You saved all our lives today!"

"Don't sweat it kid," Sam smiled warmly. "You just run along home and remember to stay in school."

Arthur gave Sam a hug before running back to his mother.

"See what I mean?" the officer chuckled.

As the officer walked away, Sam took the time to go over to the scene where the hourglass had been shattered. The magnificent object was now ruined. Its once hand-crafted beauty was now nothing more than broken glass and sand.

"Too bad this had to happen," Sam said ruefully.

"I know what you mean," Al appeared next to Sam. "I used to have this old Ming Dynasty vase at home… beautiful, just beautiful. Then in a fit of rage, my high school sweetheart shattered it when we were having our final breakup argument."

"Must've been rough," Sam looked at the hologram.

"It was," admitted Al. "Then it got better. Plus I met Beth later on so it wasn't really much of a loss."

In their previous adventures before Sam had changed Al's personal history, Al always made mention of his multiple wives. Now, however, all of that had been erased when Sam finally put Beth and Al back together. Rather than ex-wives and messy divorces, Sam now had to put up with Al talking about his old flames and high school breakups.

"Think this artifact can be put back together?" Sam knelt down to observe the broken hourglass.

"It'll take a few sleepless hours and a lot of patience," admitted Al, "but I think it can be done."

"I would love to put it back together myself," Sam sighed. "But something tells me I won't be sticking around long enough to do it."

Al watched as the blue aura surrounded Sam once more.

"Hey, not every wrong is yours to put right," Al told his friend.

"I know, but I guess I can't help myself sometimes," Sam smiled.

"Maybe not, but the curators have got this one," Al replied. "Good luck on your next leap, Sam."

As Sam leaped out, the woozy and shaken Officer Cassidy returned to spot where Sam was standing.

"Geez, the future really is a weird place," Officer Cassidy shook his head and walked off.

As soon as the police officer had left the room, the broken hourglass began to shake violently.

Soon, the grains of sand began to move together and coalesce, whipping into the air and lashing about violently. A dark aura surrounded the whole scene, darkening the entire history exhibit room. Finally, the sand within the hourglass formed into the shape of a man.

Standing in the exhibit was a dark hooded figure with a medieval staff in his hand. Silently, he tilted his hood and looked down upon the broken hourglass.

Raising his hand, he consumed the hourglass with a red aura, mending it and fixing it completely. With a mere gesture, he telekinetically lifted the hourglass into the air and then into his hands.

Placing the hourglass on top of his staff, the mysterious figure raised it up, summoning a portal out of thin air. Without a single word, the strange visitor vanished through it to parts unknown.


	2. Faith and Good Works Pt 1

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Faith and Good Works Part 1_

By the time the blue aura cleared up, Sam Beckett found himself in a familiar situation once more.

Looking down at the clothes he was wearing, Sam once again noticed that he was in priestly garments. It had been years ago that he leaped into a religious figure in order to help out another priest, Father McRoberts, who had been ailing from alcoholism and his desire to avenge the death of a young boy.

But was he back in the exact same parish?

"Father Pistano, how are you doing?" a kind voice behind Sam alerted him.

"Uh yeah, I'm doing alright," Sam turned around.

Right in front of him was Father McRoberts, the one and only.

"Father Mac!" Sam said in surprise.

"What's wrong, Frank?" asked Father Mac. "You look like you've seen a ghost. In fact, you're looking at me like I'm a ghost."

"I'm… a little woozy," Sam replied, making up something on the spot. "I woke up with a bit of a headache earlier and just about anything that comes out of nowhere will surprise me!"

It was not the best of excuses but it appeared to be a passable one as Father Mac nodded, accepting it.

"I hope you'll be ready for Immaculate Conception Day a few short days from now," Father Mac told him. "It's going to be a busy day and I'll need as much help as I can with the services."

"I'm, uh, always ready to help out," Sam agreed. "Hang on for a second… I have to go use the restroom."

Excusing himself, Sam sped off to the men's restroom. Closing the door behind him, he looked around.

"Al, you there?"

No reply.

"C'mon Al!" Sam tried again. "I'm back in one of my old leaps!"

Finally, the hologram of Al appeared from out of a glowing door.

"Geez Sam," Al commented. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Al, I'm back in a previous leap!" Sam told him. "You remember the Catholic Diocese I was in?"

"I remember, Sam," Al nodded. "And I can imagine why…"

"I never get sent back on the same leap twice," Sam finished. "Unless…"

"Oh great," Al put a hand on his forehead. "Those other leapers are back."

It had been years since Sam or Al had encountered the other leapers. For simply lack of a better term, 'evil leapers' was the moniker they had used for Alia, Zoey, and the others who travelled across time, undermining the good works of Sam's leaping.

"So what am I here for?" asked Sam.

Al typed in some coordinates on his device.

"Oh boy," Al's eyes narrowed. "This ain't good."

"What happens?" demanded Sam.

"History is changing, Sam," Al frowned. "Father McRoberts is going to die tonight."

"What?!" Sam was shocked.

"I don't know all the details," Al continued. "But it appears that Father McRoberts will die tonight from a fall."

"A fall?" Sam was shocked. "Was he murdered?"

"We don't know," Al said uncertainly. "It could've been a murder. It also could've been a suicide."

"A suicide?" Sam shook his head. "Come on… Father Mac isn't in that state of mind anymore."

"Hey, you never know," Al said, not completely ruling out the scenario.

"In the original timeline, Father Mac went on to have a good ending," Sam turned around to look at Father Pistano's image in the mirror. "This means I'm going to work double-time. Keep a close eye on Father Mac… and find the evil leaper who's causing this."

For what it was worth, he did not believe it was Alia. She had redeemed herself and leaped into safety after his adventure with her was over. There was also the woman Zoey but hadn't he finished her off when he shot her?

Suddenly, a look of shock came over Al's face.

"Sam, I hear gunshots outside the imaging chamber," Al looked concerned.

"Gunshots?!" Sam was shocked. Had somebody infiltrated Project Quantum Leap?

"Hang in tight, Sam," Al told his friend. "I'll be back!"

oooo

"What's going on here?!" Al Calavicci stepped outside of the imaging chamber and into the main room.

"This is going on."

As soon as Al took his first step outside, he felt a gun pointed at his temple.

Turning around, he saw an entire squadron of masked soldiers inside the room, holding every Project Quantum Leap worker hostage at gunpoint.

"Who are you people?" Al demanded.

"You don't get to ask questions," the masked soldier replied to Al in a British accent.

"Hey Constance!" a soldier near the main computer tried to install a small piece of hard drive inside the computer. "Is this how I install Lothos?"

The man holding Al hostage bristled.

"Ramirez, you idiot!" Constance yelled. "Don't give away my name!"

"But… you just gave away my name too," Ramirez sounded upset.

"Nevermind that," Constance growled. "We have a job to do."

Constance walked over towards the main computer that housed Ziggy, helping Ramirez properly place the hard drive in.

"There, now Lothos should be able to install itself into Project Quantum Leap just fine," Constance smiled through his mask.

"Just who are you?" Dr. Donna Eleese-Beckett stepped forward.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Constance sneered at her.

Donna stared at the masked man without a hint of fear.

"What do you want with us?" she demanded.

"Simple," Constance replied. "We're taking over this project. Soon, Lothos will download himself into your core systems and take over this whole facility."

"Lothos?" Al got up, knowing full well that it was potentially a bad idea. "You people are working with those evil leapers."

"Evil leapers?" Constance looked incredulous. "Is that what you've labeled us? I'll have you know that Project Chr—"

"I thought we weren't going to give away anymore names… or secrets," Ramirez interrupted Constance.

Embarrassed, Constance collected himself once more.

"Right," the black ops leader nodded. "We will share no more secrets with you. Soon, Lothos will take control… not that any of you will live to tell about it."

"You plan on killing all of us, don't you?" Gooshie, the head programmer, asked.

"Way to ask the obvious," Ramirez smiled, as the other soldiers in the room began chuckling.

"How did you people find out about us?" demanded Al.

"It was simple," Constance leaned against the wall. "When our project became aware of other time travelers out there, we realized that they had to have a source somewhere. And because we discovered this Sam Beckett had an American accent, it was only a matter of time before we realized that his base of operations was somewhere within the United States."

"So how'd you find out about our location exactly?" Al pressed on.

"You'd be amazed what government bureaucrats and politicians will reveal with the right financial incentive," revealed Constance.

"So a bunch of no-good big wigs sold us out for thirty pieces of silver," Al muttered.

"Naturally," Constance sneered. "What can a bunch of scientists do to defend themselves? You people never saw this coming."

"Then I'll have you know that I've already alerted security while you weren't looking," Donna stared down Constance. "They should be here soon."

"You're bluffing," Constance pointed his gun at her.

"Am I?" Donna Eleese-Beckett stepped aside, revealing a red emergency button that had been pressed down.

"You're taking a real risk calling for backup," Constance pointed his gun directly under her chin. "What's to say we won't go down in a blaze of glory without taking you down with us?"

"Hey boss," Ramirez said in a shaky tone. "Something's wrong here."

"What?!" demanded Constance.

"Lothos… it's not downloading into Project Quantum Leap!" Ramirez looked on in shock.

"Why?" Constance fumed. "Lothos was recently upgraded to be able to hack into advanced government systems like this!"

"I don't know!" Ramirez was panicking now. "It's like they've uploaded some crazy anti-virus system!"

Without warning, the front door opened up, revealing one of the black ops soldiers.

"Sir, there's a convoy of government soldiers headed our way," the soldier told Constance.

It was then that Constance realized that Donna was not bluffing.

"Bloody Hell!" Constance swore. "Is Lothos being downloaded into the systems yet?"

"No sir…" Ramirez looked at the hard drive frantically.

"Abort the mission!" Constance ordered his soldiers. "We leave now!"

Taking hold of the hard drive that contained Lothos, Ramirez yanked it out and put it inside one of his pockets.

"You can't just come in and threaten us like this!" Gooshie got in front of Constance.

"What's going to stop us?" Constance grimaced and pushed Gooshie down. "Your halitosis?"

As quickly as they had appeared, the masked soldiers disappeared through the doors. As Constance walked out, Gooshie quickly grabbed his shoes.

"We have a right to know who you are and why you held us hostage!" Gooshie demanded.

"No… you don't!" Constance planted his foot on Gooshie's shoulder and pushed him off roughly.

By the time all of them were gone, Gooshie breathed a sigh of relief.

"We do now!" Gooshie smiled.

"What do you mean?" Al got up and walked up towards the programmer.

"I got a tracer on his boot," Gooshie replied gleefully. "Now we can track them back to wherever they came from!"

"Gooshie, you're a genius!" Al smiled.

"If that's true, I'm not the only one today," Gooshie looked over at Donna Eleese-Beckett.

"Yeah, that was some good quick thinking calling in security," Al told her. "We may not be standing here right now if you hadn't kept your cool and handled the situation with grace."

The front door slid open to reveal several government soldiers.

"We got your emergency signal," the head officer told them. "Is everything alright?"

"Several masked men with guns barged in and tried to take control of Project Quantum Leap," Gooshie informed the officer. "Here, let me go get the security tape for you."

As Gooshie walked off with the security officer, Al walked off towards the Imaging Chamber with Donna.

"Are you alright?" Al asked Donna.

"Honestly?" she looked at the former naval officer. "I was terrified."

"Well, you did a good job not looking the part," Al complimented. "Not many people can keep cool under fire like that."

Most of the time, it was Sam who was in harm's way. But on the rare occasion, the staff of Project Quantum Leap also came under fire. One notorious case was when Sam had leaped into a serial killer. The deranged criminal managed to escape the waiting room and proceeded to cause havoc before being brought back to his own timeline.

"A part of me wanted to scream, cower in fear, and even give up," confessed Donna. "But then I remembered that I was doing this for Sam. I have to stay strong for him."

"Sam's a lucky man, Donna," Al smiled.

"Are you two alright?" a female technician came up to them.

She had light brown hair that was tied into a ponytail. Glasses adorned her face as she chewed on a pen nervously.

"We're okay now, Sammy Jo," confirmed Donna. "Thank you."

"More importantly, thank you for monitoring the situation with the attempted download," Al told her. "If we hadn't placed you in a separate facility to monitor our computers, then Lothos would've infected our entire system."

Sammy Jo Fuller was the daughter of Sam Beckett during one of his leaps. Normally, Sam had the moral values of a boy scout and rarely engaged in anything extramarital. It was even more uncommon for him to sleep with a woman who had been intended for another man.

However, on that night, Sam gave in to his passions and spent the evening with Abigail Fuller despite that fact that he was not her fiancé, Will Kinman. And Sammy Jo was the product of that union between Sam Beckett and Abigail.

"From my location I noticed a disturbance in the systems of our mainframe computer," Sammy Jo told Donna and Al. "I was able to find it in time and prevent it from corrupting the systems."

"I don't know what we'd do without you," smiled Donna.

"Unfortunately, there are still traces of this virus left in our databanks," Sammy Jo told them. "I'm going to have to analyze it and come up a better anti-virus just in case another cyber-attack like this happens."

"Agreed," nodded Al. "The sooner we make a Lothos repellant for Ziggy, the better."

"Lothos?" asked Sammy Jo. "Is that the name of the program that tried to take over?"

"It's a long and complicated story but yes," Al confirmed. "Let me fill you in on what I know."

oooo

"Hey Father Mac," Sam asked. "You've been feeling alright lately?"

The two of them stood toe to toe in the boxing ring. Already, Father Mac was moving on the offensive.

"That's a bit of an odd question," Father Mac replied, "but recently, yes. I was once an angry and vengeful man. But it's the kind of man I strive to grow out of daily."

"That's good to hear," Sam ducked a few jabs from Father Mac.

"I'm only human," Father Mac punched at Sam's arms for a while. "I try my best to do the Lord's work but there will always be times when I falter. But I know in those times, He will be there to pick me back up again and put me back on my feet."

The two traded punches for a while before backing away from each other again.

"Sometimes, the Lord sends people into our lives to help us," continued Father McRoberts, "people who aid us in our darkest hours and enable us to grow. Like the way you helped me cope with Sunny's death and not give in to murdering Tony Pronti and staining my hands with blood."

"Hey, anything to help out a fellow priest," Sam smiled.

At that moment, he got punched in the jaw. Sam stumbled back slightly before regaining his composure.

"Remember to keep your arms up," Father Mac reminded him. "I may be a priest but I still swing one mean left hook."

"Right… right," Sam raised them up again.

Suddenly, one of the bells in the church rang, alerting both Sam and Father Mac.

"Hmm, I wonder who that could be," Father Mac stopped what he was doing.

As Sam went with Father Mac, he noticed a cat with light brown hair lying down next to the ring.

"Is that a stray?" asked Sam.

"I found him just last night," Father Mac admitted. "He was famished and I decided to take him in."

"Hey, I'm sure no good deed goes unrewarded," smiled Sam.

Father McRoberts put on his jogging jacket to look a bit more presentable as Sam did the same before heading to the door.

As Father Mac opened up, he saw a blonde haired businessman with slicked back hair and a fashionably dressed business suit. Next to him was a taller bodyguard with darker hair and a hint of Italian to his facial features.

"Good evening, you must be Father McRoberts, am I right?" the blonde businessman asked.

"I am," Father Mac shook his head. "And you are…?"

"I'm Carl Rory," he announced. "And the person next to me is my friend and bodyguard, Lorenzo. I admit, I wasn't expecting to see you out of uniform."

"Oh, my church has a gym in the back," Father Mac admitted. "On our off hours, Father Pistano and I work out there."

Sam smiled and waved hello to Carl and his bodyguard Lorenzo. Right now he was not getting a good vibe from either of the two men but for the moment, he still had to remain polite and cordial since they hadn't done anything yet.

"Having a gym in the back is a good idea," Lorenzo flashed a smile. "You gotta be strong in order to be a man of God."

"So how may I help you gentlemen today?" asked Father Mac.

"I grew up in these streets," Carl looked up at the ceiling. "By the time I was in high school, this neighborhood was already falling apart and I was just a punk kid who didn't do anything to help with the problem. After high school was over, I went to college elsewhere and made something of myself."

Carl then looked at Father Mac in the eyes.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to help this whole neighborhood," he smiled. "I'm buying out a lot of buildings on this street and there's always room for improvement."

Father Mac frowned slightly.

"How much would you like for Saint Mary's?" asked Carl. "Name your price… whatever you want!"

"I'm sorry sir," Father Mac said without hesitation. "But selling St Mary's is something we cannot do. This church provides hope to believers and there's still much we need to do in order to help people ourselves. This church cannot be sold."

For a moment, Carl Rory looked like he was about to say something but then decided against it. Instead, he flashed a smile and offered his hand to Father Mac.

"No offense taken," Carl shook the priest's hand. "You're a man of God who's doing good work here. I was the one out of line for suggesting such a thing. Have a nice evening, father."

Carl then walked over to Sam and offered a hand.

"Nice meeting you as well, Father…?" Carl smiled.

"Pistano," Sam answered.

For cordiality's sake, Sam decided to shake Carl's hand. But as soon as their hands touched, a bright light consumed both of them, blinding each other.

As Sam looked up again, he found himself staring into the face of a leaper he had encountered a long time ago.

"You…" Sam growled.

"Yes… me," Zoey sneered, now recognizing Sam as well.

Whenever two leapers touched each other, they would instantly recognize one another, as Sam had experienced long ago.

"I'm sorry, but do you two know each other?" asked Father Mac.

"I do now," Sam replied with an edge to his voice. "I thought I didn't recognize this person at first… but now it's all coming back to me."

"Yes, the memories are returning to me as well," Zoey replied. "In any case, have a nice day, both of you."

At that, Zoey walked off with Carl Rory's bodyguard.

"Well, I'm going to retire to my studies," Father Mac patted Sam on the back. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Of course," Sam nodded. "I'll see you later."

As soon as Father Mac left, Sam turned around only to bump into the hologram of Al.

"Al, good thing you're here!" Sam said with relief in his voice.

"Sorry I couldn't make it back sooner," Al replied. "But there were these masked soldiers that broke into our compound and tried to take over."

"Who are those people?" asked Sam.

"They revealed that they were trying to download Lothos' program into our core system," Al informed his friend. "They were working for those evil leapers, without a doubt."

"Is everything okay over there?" Sam looked concerned.

"It is now," Al told him. "All of our staff showed courage in the face of danger and your daughter in particular managed to create this nifty anti-virus program to prevent Lothos from infecting all of our software."

"That's good," Sam breathed a sigh of relief as the stray cat Father Mac took in came by to rub against his leg.

"I stayed behind a little longer with Sammy Jo," Al mentioned. "There were traces of Lothos left behind from the cyber-attack but your daughter managed to upgrade Ziggy, making her frequencies incompatible with Lothos, and shielding her from any future attempts at a hostile takeover."

"That Sammy Jo really is a genius," Sam smiled.

"Hey, we know where she gets it from!" Al grinned.

"In any case, remember that Carl Rory guy who stopped by?" asked Sam.

"I caught a glimpse of him just as he left," Al replied. "He had a smile like a shark, that one."

"Carl has been replaced with the leaper Zoey," Sam informed him.

"What?" Al looked surprised. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, in the original timeline Father Mac would go on to have a happier ending," Sam looked at the horizon seriously. "And we both know I never return to an old leap unless one of those other leapers is causing trouble."

"We're in a rough spot," admitted Al.

"I agree," Sam placed an arm against the wall, "which is why I need to keep a careful eye on 'Carl' and watch over Father Mac at the same time."

oooo

"So you just let them keep their property?" Lorenzo asked as he and 'Carl' got into their limo.

As Lorenzo got on the wheel, Zoey sat down and buckled her seatbelt.

"Don't worry," she told Lorenzo. "In situations like this, one must always keep up appearances. Father McRoberts had to think I was backing off."

"So what next?" Lorenzo glanced back.

"Well, you know what they say," Zoey smiled. "Accidents happen."

"Name the time," Lorenzo grinned. "I'll make it happen."

"Tonight," confirmed Zoey. "After all, Father McRoberts is an older gentleman. And sometimes, unfortunate accidents tend to befall older gentlemen more…"

_To be continued._


	3. Faith and Good Works Pt 2

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Faith and Good Works Part 2_

"Hey Father Mac," Sam went up to the elder priest. "I've decided to stay a little later here tonight. Hope you don't mind?"

"Of course not," McRoberts replied. "I'll be in my studies. There are a few more books I have to get done with."

"Oh, which ones?" asked Sam.

"Have you ever read GK Chesterton before?" asked Father Mac.

"I've heard of him," confessed Sam. "But, uh, I don't think I've ever taken the time to read his works."

"I'm currently reading The Everlasting Man," Father Mac walked down the halls with Sam. "It's one of the greatest works of Christian apologetics ever written. When I'm done reading it, I could let you borrow it."

"That would be swell, Father," Sam smiled. "Thanks."

"I'll quote you a little something from this book," Father Mac nodded. "_There are two ways of getting home, and one of them is to stay there. The other is to walk 'round the whole world till we come back to the same place; and I tried to trace such a journey in a story I once wrote._"

"More than one way of getting home?" Sam sighed wearily. "Honestly at this point I think I could teleport to every part of the world and still not make it home."

To Sam, the home he was talking about was his own time that he had yet to return to. However, to Father McRoberts, Sam's words sounded like a yearning for a more eternal home beyond the Earth.

"The journey will be tough, Frank," Father Mac gripped Sam's shoulder. "And along the way, we will encounter suffering and tribulations. But if we endure to the very end, we will reach our final destiny and rewards beyond any earthly riches we can imagine."

"That sounds nice," Sam replied, going along with Father McRoberts.

It wasn't necessarily that Sam didn't believe in things beyond the scientific and secular world that he was involved in. In fact, during many of his leaps, he had seen extraordinary things that defied logical explanations.

Along the way, he had seen ghosts, aliens, guardian angels, the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle, and at one point, even an age-old vampire. But by and far, it was not something Sam was used to. For most of his life he had not been a particularly religious man but in his many leaps, he had come to acknowledge that there were things beyond both the scientific and the mundane. But in spite of it all, he still operated on a basic skill sets of science and logic, with supernatural or religious phenomena kept to a minimum.

From behind the walls, Al appeared next to Father McRoberts.

"Hey Sam, we gotta talk," Al told him.

"Excuse me for a moment Father," Sam said to the elderly priest. "I'll be right back.

Before long, Sam was inside Father Pistano's office with Al pacing back and forth nervously.

"What do you have for me, Al?" asked Sam.

"I don't know what's going on," Al replied. "But Ziggy is telling me that there's an eighty five percent chance that Father Mac is gonna bite the bullet tonight even with you here."

"What?" Sam was shocked. "How can that be?"

"Unfortunately that's what Ziggy is telling me," Al told Sam, "Father Mac is still going to die."

"How can that be?" demanded Sam.

"I don't know," admitted Al. "Ziggy doesn't have all the exact details on what happened that night."

"I need to be there with Father Mac then," Sam got up.

"Wait Sam," Al called out. "Before you do, there's some more information I need to share with you."

"What is it?"

"Well it involves some of those bad leapers," replied Al. "Before I came to see you, I did some research with Sammy Jo. We may have a lead to whatever organization they are and where they're located."

"What do you got for me?" Sam was curious.

"Well their supercomputer Lothos for one…" Al checked his data. "We think we've found a lead on a possible origin for the name Lothos. Have you ever heard of a Nathaniel Lothoman?"

"No, I don't believe I have," admitted Sam.

"Well, here's what I found out," continued Al. "And you're going to be amazed. You remember your time at MIT with Professor LoNigro, right?"

"How could I not?" Sam smiled, remembering fondly his time developing his string theory with the professor.

"Get this, two years after you graduated," Al went on. "Professor LoNigro took in another star pupil by the name of Nathaniel Lothoman… a quantum physicist just like you. Apparently, they worked to further advance the string theories that you and LoNigro came up with together."

"Whatever became of this Lothoman?" asked Sam.

"Well if you're expecting the story of a scientist-turned-evil-genius who wants to take over the world, you may be disappointed," answered Al. "A few years before our own Project Quantum Leap began, Dr. Lothoman died under mysterious circumstances. Some claim it was heart failure as there was no sign of struggle but others believe he was assassinated somehow."

"Then he's not the one behind these evil leapers," Sam looked at Al. "Is it somebody else?"

"We don't know yet," Al acknowledged, "but I do believe this Lothoman may have created the blueprint for these bad leapers to jump around time. I'll go back and continue my research to see if we can dig up anything more on these people."

"Thanks Al," Sam got up again. "I think I'd better go keep an eye out for Father Mac now."

"Good luck Sam," Al nodded.

As Sam stepped outside, Al suddenly noted the shadow of another person behind the door that Sam had opened up.

"Sam, look out!" shouted Al, but it was too late.

Before Sam could turn around in time, a metal pipe struck Sam across the skull, knocking him unconscious.

As Sam crumpled to the floor, Al quickly ran through the walls to see the figure of 'Carl' standing there with a triumphant smirk.

"That was a cheap shot, you no good scumbucket!" Al shouted.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, Mr. Beckett," Zoey smiled. "But it's more important that I fulfill my mission."

oooo

Sam was not sure for how long he had been out but as soon as he came to, he was hit with an immense throbbing in his head.

"Ugh… what happened?" he groaned.

Before long, he realized he wasn't alone in the room. Zoey stood a few yards away from him to the side. Sam tried to get up but soon realized that his arms were tied behind his back and his feet were tied to a chair.

"Oh I assure you," Zoey said to Sam in a faux-pleasant tone. "You won't be getting up anytime soon."

"You…" Sam glared at her. "So after all these years you finally showed up. I thought you died back in that women's prison."

"True I was mortally wounded by you," she acknowledged. "And I would have died too… but as soon as the aura from the leap consumed me, I was healed of my wounds."

She looked at Sam's incredulous glare.

"It's amazing what modern science can do now, isn't it?" she chuckled.

Sam sighed, realizing that she was right. A long time ago, he had leaped into the body of the infamous Lee Harvey Oswald. During that moment, he had gotten into a brutal fight with Oswald's commanding officer, a fight that had left Sam beaten and bloodied. However, right after he made the leap out of that era of Oswald's life, the aura from the leap had healed him completely of all his wounds. It was not unlikely that Zoey's very own leap had saved her life from the gunshot.

"Did you miss me?" she asked coyly.

"Like I miss acne," Sam answered disdainfully.

"Judge me all you want," Zoey told him, "but not even you can stop me tonight."

"Why are you doing this?" demanded Sam.

"It's simply really," Zoey replied cheerfully. "The priest needs to die."

"That's it?" Sam looked furious. "Father McRoberts has been through so much already. He's had to live with the death of a young boy from his parish. He's struggled to rein himself from taking revenge and staining his priesthood with blood. Why in the world are you doing this to him?!"

"Because," Zoey said matter-of-factly, "we're in this to test a theory."

"A theory?!" Sam was taken aback. "Ruining the lives of people just to test what theory?"

"That is actually not your concern," Zoey turned away. "Thames, is everything going to plan?"

Next to here was the hologram of a black man holding a handheld device in his hand. He was well dressed and posh. However, Zoey was the only one in the room who could see him.

"Sam, are you alright?" the hologram of Al leaned down next to him.

Sam gave a brief nod but didn't say anything more, not wanting to expose Al's presence to Zoey or her hologram.

"The plan is flowing smoothly," Thames replied with a smile. "Carl's bodyguard Lorenzo is in place to take care of Father Big Mac."

"Good, then I'll be taking my leave now," Zoey pushed her hair back. "I need to be as far away from this crime scene as I can."

"That would be best," confirmed Thames.

"Goodbye Mr. Beckett," Zoey walked towards the door. "I regret to inform you that when and if you do break free of those restraints, Lorenzo will have completed his task."

"Sayonara, sucker!" Thames waved at Sam.

When Zoey was finally gone, Sam turned back to the hologram of Al Calavicci.

"Is there any way I can get out of this in time?" Sam tried to break free.

Al looked around nervously.

"There's… there's, uh, a box cutter on top of this desk," confirmed Al, 'but I don't know how to get it off…"

Looking around frantically, Sam noticed the stray cat that Father Mac had taken in earlier. It was a long shot that he realized it was still worth trying to use the cat to somehow get free.

"Al, animals can still see you," Sam told his friend. "Think you could get that cat to get me the box cutter?"

"Uh Sam," Al looked at the cat nervously. "We're talking about a cat here. They're not exactly known for being able to fetch."

"It's a long shot but it's the only shot we have," Sam reminded him.

"Okay, I'm not very good with cats but here goes nothing," Al bit down on his teeth.

Luckily for Sam, the cat leaped on top of the table just a few inches away from the boxcutter.

"Here kitty kitty kitty…" Al looked at the cat, making a face.

The feline only stared back at him blankly.

"Try something else!" insisted Sam.

"Okay uh… fetch!" Al commanded.

Again he was greeted with silence.

"C'mon Al!"

"I got it!" Al suddenly realized.

The cat could see him… that much Al was certain of. However, it wasn't afraid of him… and that needed to change.

"Alright pussy cat," Al glared at the cat. "You wanna play it that way?"

Without warning, Al's hologram walked straight through the table, taking the feline by complete shock and surprise. Though the cat didn't have quite as developed of a sentient mindset as a human being, even she recognized when something freakish had occurred, such as Al's figure walking straight through the table.

Hissing in fear, the cat turned tail and ran, knocking over the boxcutter. The cutter fell off the table as Sam caught it just in time with his hands behind his back.

"Good job, Al!" Sam cried.

"Yes!" Al pumped his fist into the air.

"I've got this," Sam told Al as he opened up the blade and began cutting through the ropes. "Go make sure Father Mac is alright!"

Not needing to be told twice, Al disappeared.

oooo

Father Mac stood on top of the second story of St Mary's. He was deep in thought, reading a Chesterton book in hand and contemplating how he would deliver his next sermon.

Right in front of him, Al appeared.

"Okay, so far so good," Al breathed in relief.

As Father Mac leaned over a staircase, Al noticed a figure out of the corner of his eye. It was Lorenzo, the bodyguard of Carl and the man who was going to push Father Mac to his doom.

"Oh no…" Al panicked.

Quickly he disappeared, transporting his hologram back to where Sam was.

"Sam, are you done yet?" Al shouted.

"Almost halfway through…" Sam confirmed.

"You gotta hurry Sam," Al insisted. "That Lorenzo guy is right up there with Father Mac right now!"

"No!" Sam cried. "If I could just cut through these ropes right now…"

"Hang in tight Sam," Al told him. "I'm going to go back to see what I can do."

With that, he teleported his hologram back to where Father Mac was.

"You gotta turn around, Father Mac!" shouted Al. "He's right behind you!"

Fortunately for Lorenzo and unfortunately for Father Mac, the Italian bodyguard was as silent as could be in his steps.

Then Al saw another opening. Right behind Father Mac was a stained glass window. In front of that stained glass window was a dove. Al had had his encounters with doves before and their wing flaps could be almost as loud as a thunderclap. He had one chance and one chance only to save Father Mac.

As Lorenzo closed in on Father Mac, Al transported himself directly in front of the dove in thin air and screamed as loudly as he could, frightening the dove into taking flight and flapping loud enough to make Father Mac turn around.

Father Mac did not see the dove flying away but he did see Lorenzo standing right in front of him.

"You again!" Father McRoberts exclaimed.

"I was supposed to make this look like an accident but now I gotta do it the messy way," Lorenzo reached inside his vest.

Instinctively, Father Mac dove into Lorenzo before he could pull out his gun. Struggling with the other man, Father Mac slammed his hand into the wall, forcing Lorenzo to drop his gun. Whipping Lorenzo around, Father Mac punched Lorenzo, knocking him away from the gun.

Lorenzo got up, blocking one of Father Mac's swings and nailing the priest across the face with mean right hook that sent Father Mac crashing into one of the handrails near the staircase. The bodyguard closed in, grabbing Father Mac by the neck and attempting to push him off the rails and onto the lower floor below.

"C'mon, Father…" Al stood by the side.

He was still unsure whether or not Father Mac would survive but at least now he had given the older priest a fighting chance.

Without warning, Father Mac kneed Lorenzo in the gut, knocking the breath out of his assailant. As Lorenzo let go, Father Mac punched him directly in the jaw. As Lorenzo fell back, the priest punched him again. Repeatedly, Father Mac laid into the assassin with hard punches until finally Lorenzo fell down, unconscious and beaten.

"Yeah, that's right!" Al cried happily. "Good job, Father Mac!"

"Father Mac!" Sam ran up towards the priest. "Are you alright?"

"I am now," Father McRoberts sighed wearily.

"I was knocked out and tied up by these guys," Sam told him. "That Carl guy who tried to buy St Mary's earlier… I don't think he's going to give up that easily."

"He'll tale this church over my cold, lifeless body," promised Father Mac.

"Let's try not to have it come down to that, father," Sam smiled meekly.

oooo

"Bad news," Thames reported to Zoey, appearing in front of her as she sat in Carl's limo.

Zoey glared at him but gestured for him to continue.

"Your assassin didn't finish the job," Thames confirmed. "Father McRoberts is still alive."

Zoey sighed. "This day is just full of disappointments."

"What will you do now?" asked the hologram.

"You know what they say," Zoey reached inside a compartment of the limo. "If you want something done right, you'll have to do it yourself."

"Now you're talkin' my language," Thames smiled.

Above the limo, a strange hooded figure watched them. Soon, Zoey turned the car around and headed back to St Mary's. The stranger above took the hourglass off his staff and flipped it around, allowing the sand to fall down once more. In a flash, he vanished into thin air.

oooo

"So Al, any theory on why I haven't leaped out yet?" asked Sam.

Father Mac was back recovering in his office while Sam sat in the pews alongside Al.

"I mean, Father Mac survived, didn't he?" Sam continued.

"Eh, Ziggy's going funny on me," admitted Al. "It's not giving me all the data yet but I think you're supposed to watch Father Mac for a little bit longer."

"Don't tell me Carl or Zoey or whoever is going to make another attempt on his life?" Sam looked worried.

"That's exactly it, Sam," Al narrowed his eyes at the new data poured into his hand-held device. "Father Mac's life is still in danger. In fact, you've changed history. Father Mac is still going to die, except instead of falling to his death in a mysterious 'accident,' he's going to end up—"

Before Al could finish what he was saying, an irate Zoey burst through the door with a shotgun in her hand.

"Yeah, that," Al pointed out.

"You!" Sam got up.

"Where is he?" demanded Zoey.

"You won't get to him," promised Sam.

"Oh no?" Zoey pointed her shotgun at Sam.

"Careful Sam, she's got some heavy duty firepower!" Al warned.

"Oh, this is gonna be good!" Thames stood next to Zoey's side.

"As I recall," Zoey smiled. "You once nearly took my life with a shotgun. It's only fitting that I close your final leap with the very same weapon."

"What's going on here?" Father Mac entered into the scene.

"Watch out, Father Mac!" warned Sam. "She's got a gun!"

"She?" Father Mac looked at Sam incredulously and then at Zoey, not realizing who 'Carl' really was. "I only see a man with a gun in here!"

"It doesn't matter," Sam replied. "This guy's out for blood, Father Mac… your blood."

"How right you are," Zoey trained the gun on Sam.

"Don't threaten Father Pistano," Father Mac told Zoey. "I'm the one you want."

"Oh, I want the both of you dead alright," Zoey assured him. "But for entirely different reasons."

"You don't have to do this," Sam told her.

"Oh, but I do!" Zoey slowly pulled down on the trigger.

Suddenly, a massive whirlwind surrounded the entire church, knocking over pews and filling the entire room with a powerful wind. Soon enough, tendrils of sand gathered in front of both Sam and Zoey, slowly taking form into that of a man.

"What the Devil?!" Zoey cursed.

Sam, Al, and Father Mac could only stand back and gape in shock as a figure in dark blue robes appeared before them all, holding a staff and an hourglass in his hands.

"Who are you?" demanded Zoey.

"Thy beginning and thy end," the robed figure replied with a dark raspy voice.

With that, the strange being lifted up his staff, enveloping the room in a black and red aura, consuming everyone in sight. Soon, Al, Sam, Zoey, and Thames alike were taken in by this aura as they vanished into nothingness along with the mysterious stranger, leaving behind a very bewildered Father McRoberts in its wake.


	4. Lost Christmas, I Give Thee My Heart

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Lost Christmas, I Give Thee My Heart  
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After what felt like an eternity, Sam fell to the floor with a thud, hitting his head hard.

"Oh boy…" groaned Sam.

Getting up, he noticed Al right next to him, next to a massive stone formation. His friend appeared to have fallen unconscious as well.

"Where am I?" Sam looked around.

Nearby were all giant stone formations in a circular position.

"Stonehenge," Sam realized.

Then he noticed Zoey and two other figures at the center of Stonehenge. One was a black man with an electronic communicator in his hand. Judging from the device in his hand, Sam deduced that whoever he was, he must've been to an observer to Zoey, just like Al had been to him.

The other stranger, however, was a mysterious figure in dark blue robes, holding a medieval staff in his hand, alongside an hourglass that rested on top of the staff.

"That hourglass…" Sam stared at it intently, realizing that he had seen it before.

"Thames, get up!" Zoey told her assistant.

"Did I die and go to Kansas?" Thames asked groggily.

"No, now come to your senses!" she insisted.

Thames got up and backed away. Unexpectedly, his body did not phase through Zoey's as the two bumped into each other. She stared at him in awe, as it slowly dawned on her what was going on.

"I'm back in my own time," Zoey said elatedly. "Thames, this is wonderful!"

Thames then felt a chill down his spine as he looked up at the mysterious figure in front of himself and Zoey.

"Uh, I think I may want to lie back down now," Thames grimaced.

"You!" Zoey glared daggers at the stranger. "You cost me my revenge!"

"Have I now?" the robed figure asked in a raspy voice, pointing his finger towards Sam Beckett and Al Calavicci a few yards away.

"Thames, give me your gun!" ordered Zoey.

"My pleasure," Thames took out his pistol and handed it to Zoey.

"Oh boy," Sam took a step back.

As he backed away, he felt himself bumping into somebody else. Turning around, Sam stood face to face with Al Calavicci.

"Al?" Sam said in wonderment. "Did we just…"

"Touch?" Al replied. "Yeah, we did."

"And that means… I'm back in my own time!" Sam said elatedly, forgetting for the moment that his life was in danger again.

"Welcome home, Dr. Beckett," Zoey smiled. "I regret to inform you that your stay will be a short one."

"Oh great," Al grunted. "Now we have to deal with the Wicked Witch of the Leap."

Zoey, however, did not press down on the trigger immediately. She turned back to the dark figure present at the scene.

"Your name, stranger?" she asked.

"Thou shalt know me as Kairos," replied the mysterious figure.

"Thank you Kairos," Zoey said graciously, "for restoring me back to my present time. But now I have no further use for you."

With that, she fired several rounds into Kairos, watching in satisfaction as the mysterious figure fell to the floor. The staff, along with the hourglass, fell a few inches away from him.

"Thames," she ordered. "Go and fetch this leaper's staff. It appears to be the source of his time travel capabilities. After I'm finished with Dr. Beckett and his friend, we shall bring it back to headquarters for further study."

As Thames went over to the staff, Zoey fixed her gun on Sam and Al.

"Well Al, this isn't exactly how I thought I would spend my first day back home," confessed Sam.

"Oh don't worry," Zoey reassured him. "You can die knowing you perished for a noble cause. You see, Project Chronos would have never been launched if it hadn't been for your research."

"So that's the name of your little pet project, eh?" Al glared at her.

"Yes, but you and your partner won't live to tell about it," Zoey promised.

"Hey Zoey!" Thames called out.

Zoey sighed. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Something's not right with this staff," Thames told her. "There's nothing scientific or technological about it! It's not installed with any sort of leaping tech!"

"What?" demanded Zoey. "How can that be?!"

"I don't know!" answered Thames. "It's just a staff and an hourglass!"

"Thou art a fool!" a dark voice from behind alerted the observer.

Thames could only stare in shock as Kairos, now back to his feet, grabbed him by the forehead with an inhuman strength and forced him to his knees. With that, a powerful dark aura covered Thames as Kairos held him firmly in place. Slowly, Thames felt the life being drained out of him.

Before long, Kairos held in his hand an old, decrepit man who had been aged far beyond his own natural age. The blackness in his hair had turned white and wrinkles shone all over his face.

At that point, Zoey lowered her gun and turned her attention back to her partner, staring in shock as she watched Kairos drain the life and remaining youth out of Thames.

"Thy efforts were for naught," Kairos informed her, letting go of Thames.

The observer fell to the floor like an aged mummy.

"Zoey… run!" Thames warned her.

"Thou should know thy place!" Kairos kicked the helpless Thames aside.

"What are you?!" demanded Zoey as Kairos moved towards her, Sam, and Al ominously.

"As I have told thee before," Kairos replied. "I am thy beginning and thy end."

Kairos spared a glance at both Sam and Al.

"Begone!" he declared with a wave of his hand, enveloping the two men with a red pulsating energy and making them disappear.

oooo

As Sam opened his eyes, he noticed how he was in the middle of a busy, bustling street. At that point, snow began to fall.

"Al, where did we—" Sam looked around in bewilderment.

Unfortunately, Sam was standing on the road. A large bus came by, nearly running into Sam. Luckily, however, Al was there to pull Sam onto the sidewalk just in time.

"Whew, thanks for the save!" Sam breathed a big sigh of relief.

"Where are we?" Al looked around. "I don't think we need Ziggy's help on this one."

He gestured towards a massive clock tower.

"We're in London, England," Al told Sam. "This is December 25th in the year 2007."

"Then that means," Sam said excitedly.

"You're home, Sam," Al smiled. "Just in time for Christmas."

So overwhelmed by his own return home that he almost completely forgot about Zoey and the mysterious figure known as Kairos, Sam sank to both knees in happiness. As he looked up into the sky, tears poured down his face.

"I'm home!" Sam cried happily. "I'm finally home!"

He finally got up and began shouting at the top of his lungs.

"I'm home!" he shouted again. "I'm back in my own time!"

Several passerbys looked at Sam as if he had gone stark raving mad.

"And you're here with me!" Sam grinned. "My best buddy Al… finally in the flesh!"

He gripped Al and hugged him tightly.

"Whoa careful," Al gasped. "Having trouble breathing, Sam!"

"Sorry," Sam let go. "It's just that I'm so excited to be back!"

"Well save your energy, Sam!" insisted Al. "You're back but you haven't even made it back to your family yet."

"Donna…" Sam recalled. "You're right. I remember now!"

"She's missed you, Sam," Al told him.

"We need to get back!" insisted Sam. "Are there any boats or planes we can take back to America?"

"It could take me a while," Al replied soberly. "I mean, I was transported all the way from an imaging chamber in New Mexico to a foreign country. Boy, customs are really going to have a field day with me!"

"So what do we do first?" asked Sam.

"First things first," Al answered simply. "We check into a hotel. Then I find an ATM to convert my dollars into the local currency…"

oooo

"I don't think you understand," Zoey backed away as Kairos closed in on her with his staff.

"Pray tell," Kairos beckoned. "What is it that I understand not?"

"I… I'm not your true enemy!" insisted Zoey. "The two men you vanquished… they are the ones you want!"

"And yet thou art the one who assailed me," Kairos glared at her.

Thinking fast, Zoey began to make things up on the spot.

"I have," she said. "But it was only to test your magnificent power. And now that I have seen it for myself, I can do no more but humble myself before your eminence!"

Taking the extra step, Zoey bowed down before Kairos on one knee to humble herself.

"Interesting," Kairos stroked his chin. "Thou art the one who freed me from the hourglass?"

"Yes!" lied Zoey. "Yes… I was the one who freed you."

"I should strike thee down where thou stands," Kairos glared at her.

"I realize that, your magnificence," Zoey beseeched, "but I now plead to you for my life with full knowledge of your abilities!"

"Very well," Kairos relented, "thou hast convinced me."

"Thank you, your eminence," Zoey smiled, still bent down on one knee.

"The power of the time staff led me to those who could manipulate time," Kairos told her. "As such, I was led here to thee."

"Well, I would consider myself a time traveler," admitted Zoey. "But being able to manipulate time? Hardly."

Kairos studied her closely. He detected not a single strand of magical potential within her. But yet, he still sensed in her the ability to travel through time.

"The power to affect the realms of time is within mine own power," Kairos told her. "But I sense no magic in thee. How art thou able to traverse through time?"

"Well I can't claim to be a magician," Zoey answered, "but I do possess something that aids me in leaping about through time."

"And what, pray tell, is that?" asked Kairos.

"Science," she smiled.

"Science," Kairos looked at her curiously. "Most interesting."

"So who exactly are you?" asked Zoey. "Another leaper?"

"Leaper?" Kairos scoffed. "I know not what thou speaks of, woman."

"Look, my ability to leap through time is not… magical in nature," Zoey explained. "As I have stated before, science is what enables me."

"Thou must explain to me what this science is," Kairos requested.

"I can and I will," promised Zoey.

"In truth, thou holds much promise," Kairos said, commending her. "I offer thee the chance now to become mine apprentice."

"Apprentice?" Zoey looked pleasantly surprised.

"Yes," Kairos said, raising his hand into the air. "Mine own powers will be thine."

At once, he produced a dagger in his hand. It looked to be of some early medieval design.

"Zoey…" a familiar voice spoke up.

Zoey looked down to see Thames next to her. He was old and decrepit now but still alive. The observer managed to get on both knees and clasp her by the arm.

"Zoey, we have to get out of here!" Thames pleaded.

Without a word, the dagger floated into the air at the command of Kairos. It hovered across thin air until it finally reached the female leaper's left hand.

Realizing the power Kairos held and the possibility that all of it would be hers to command, Zoey stared at the dagger longingly with a blank expression.

"Kill this wretch," ordered Kairos, pointing a bony finger at Thames.

"Zoey, no!" Thames looked at her in fear.

"Shhh," Zoey bent down, putting the knife on the floor. "I would never dream of such a thing."

With that, she embraced Thames in a hug, giving relief to the man finally. However, Kairos smiled as he watched out of the corner of his eye.

Almost without warning, Zoey picked up the knife again and plunged it right into the heart of Thames. The observer looked in shock and agony as his partner twisted the knife into him.

"But I have new dreams now," Zoey informed him, "and I'm about to make them come true."

"Zoey," Thames spat. "You murderous b—"

He did not get to finish his sentence as he spat blood and fell down. Within a few short moments, Thames was no longer among the living.

"Thy task is complete," Kairos nodded approvingly. "Thou art in my services now."

"And I am proud to serve," Zoey turned around, bowing.

"Now," Kairos told her. "I command thee to present to me this… science."

"Very well, your eminence," Zoey agreed. "Come, I don't believe our organization is far from this area."

oooo

"Good news Sam," Al went up towards Sam. "I got our hotel booked and our trip back to America should take place five days from now."

The two men were at a local pub, celebrating Sam's comeback with a warm meal and drinks.

"That's great!" Sam was ecstatic. "Did they make you go through a lot of red tape though?"

"Lucky for me, I made some calls to the right people in America," Al replied. "So in a few short days, we'll get back home safe and sound."

"Then I guess we'd better enjoy the time we have right now," Sam raised a glass. "It's not every day you get to spend Christmas with your best friend in a foreign country."

"No it is not," Al agreed, raising his glass. "A toast?"

"A toast!" Sam smiled. "To the success of Project Quantum Leap!"

"Quantum Leap?" a drunken bald hooligan staggered up towards them. "What's that supposed to be? Some new brandy?"

"Uh no actually," Al corrected him. "It's top secret."

"Top secret?" the drunk hiccupped as a few of his friends gathered around. "Suits me just fine! You know what's not a secret?"

"What's that?" Al asked.

"I don't like 'yer face!" the bald drunken patron took his glass of champagne and splashed it on Al's face.

All of the drunken guy's friends guffawed at what he had done to Al.

"You are really asking for it," Al told the hooligan.

"You gonna give it to me?" the lush taunted.

"Al, he's just trying to bait you," Sam told his friend. "Let's ignore 'em."

"Tonight's your lucky night," Al told the drunken hooligan and turned back around. "For Sam's sake, I'm not going to let a pimple like you ruin my evening."

"Oh come on!" the drunk taunted again, pushing Al from behind. "Let's see what you're made of!"

"Hey, I think you need to learn some manners!" Sam turned around to the drunk.

Before Sam could get up, a larger man in a mohawk came up and put Sam in headlock, squeezing down on the physicist with his big, bulging arms.

"Shut 'yer trap, dweeb!" the hooligan with the mohawk growled at Sam. "You could both use a good pounding!"

In the meantime, the drunken man turned Al around and grabbed him by the collars.

"I'm gonna bloody enjoy this!" the lush declared.

"Alright Al!" Sam squeaked while in the headlock. "Guess we got no other choice!"

As the drunk took a swing at Al, Al blocked it and came back with a punch that knocked the bald drunk back-first onto the floor. Additionally, Sam got out of the mohawk guy's grip and grabbed him by the arm, Judo tossing him onto the hard floor.

"Get 'em!" the other hooligans jumped into the fray.

Two men grabbed Al from the side as a third one began to pummel him. A large redheaded hooligan attacked Sam, punching him across the face two times and sending him careening towards a table.

"Omph!" Sam staggered back, realizing he tasted his own blood in his mouth.

Sam caught himself as he fell onto the table, wiping the blood off his lips. As the redhead came in closer Sam lashed out with his foot and kicked the man in the stomach, making him keel over. As the hooligan held his stomach, Sam grabbed a chair and smashed it over his attacker to take him out.

The quantum physicist then rushed over to help his observer and best friend who was being pummeled by the three men.

Sam quickly grabbed the man who was punching Al in the stomach and spun him around, punching him in the solar plexus. As the attacker grunted in pain, Sam floored him with an uppercut.

Seeing his chance to escape, Al elbowed one of his assailants in the stomach as Sam grabbed the other one and yanked him off of Al. Al took down his attacker with a punch to the jaw while Sam knocked the other one out with a swing kick across the face.

"I can't believe this!" declared Sam.

"Can't believe what?" the now bruised up Al Calavicci looked at him.

"After all these years, I finally get to have a barroom brawl with my best friend by my side!"

"Sam, I know you're excited to be back in your own time and all," Al frowned, "but is it really necessary to—"

"Al!" shouted Sam. "Incoming!"

Now back to their feet, the bald drunk and his mohawked friend charged Sam and Al.

Quickly, both men ducked underneath, grabbing the attackers and flipping them over the bar counter.

"A toast, Al?" Sam grabbed a beer bottle on the table.

"A toast!" Al agreed.

As the two hooligans rose, Sam and Al brought the beer bottles down, smashing it across their foreheads to knock them out for good.

"Aye Carumba!" Al knelt over as Sam helped him up. "I think I might've broken a rib."

"Here Al," Sam helped his friend up. "Let's get back to our hotel room."

Before the two of them could make it to the exit, several policemen entered into the bar with their batons ready.

"Halt!" the chief officer told them. "In the name of the law!"

"Oh boy," Sam exchanged worried glances with Al.

**Author's Note**: The name Kairos is based on the Greek word for time. Along with the word "chronos," they both signify time, except "kairos" refers to a more permanent period of time where everything occurs, rather than sequential time like "chronos" where time is more chronological. Also, with regards to the year this is taking place, my take on the situation is that Project Quantum Leap began in the year 1999. With five seasons, I interpret five years to have passed by with Sam leaping around. And since my fic takes place three years after the series finale, it would bring the grand total of leap years(no pun intended) for Sam to be eight years, by which time, it would be sometime in 2007 for my fan interpretation of this fic.


	5. Winds of Change

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Winds of Change_

"Well, spending the night in jail wasn't exactly my idea of a nice Christmas Day," admitted Sam.

Both men were now locked up in a jailhouse in London.

"Hey, those nozzles at the bar wanted to get down and dirty with us," Al pointed out. "What else were we gonna do?"

"Maybe it was a bad idea to go to a bar," sighed Sam. "We should've just stayed at the hotel and got some early rest."

"Wait for it, Sam," promised Al. "Before we left for that bar, I managed to make contact with an American diplomat here in London. In a few minutes the cops here will allow me to make a phone call and I got his cell number."

"So he'll be able to pull us out?" asked Sam.

"With a little luck, yes," Al nodded. "But I gotta say, us ending up like this didn't exactly do wonders for the reputation that American tourists get in England."

"Ain't that the truth," Sam finally leaned back and lied down on the makeshift bed.

Sam Beckett stared at the ceiling and allowed everything to sink in. He had been brought back to his own time but now he was facing jail time and possibly some other charges as well. Overall, it had not been the reception he had expected for his return home.

Then he remembered the mysterious stranger, Kairos, who had sent him back to his own time.

"Hey Al, remember that guy who sent me back to my own time?" Sam asked his friend.

"Yeah, what of him?" Al leaned against the bars of the cell.

"He was able to send me back to my own time with that staff in his hands," Sam said contemplatively. "I wonder who he really is. And more importantly, how was it that he was able to bend the rules of leaping in order to return me home?"

Al thought about it for a minute before answering.

"Well Sam, remember that time we first encountered a ghost?" asked Al.

"Yeah, it was back in that mansion years ago where I had to save that widow who thought her husband was haunting her," recalled Sam.

"Well, we met that waitress in the house and then later, we found out she had been dead for years," Al swallowed, remembering the ghoulish adventure with a bit of a chill down his spine.

"I remember," Sam nodded.

"Well, we never got to the bottom of that ghost mystery there," Al answered. "Oh yeah, and remember that time you leaped into Egypt? And we saw that mummy there?"

"You saw the mummy," corrected Sam.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Al recalled. "In any case, the mummy strangled that one guy who was trying to kill you. But just like with the ghost lady, the mummy wasn't your mission. Your mission was to save your partner."

"That's right," agreed Sam.

"And there were a few other cases where we encountered events that were out of the ordinary," continued Al. "For instance, we both encountered that UFO during that one leap where you were trying to save an old man from being institutionalized. And there was that leap where you leaped into an Honest-To-God vampire. And let's not forget that one leap in Washington State where the both of us saw Bigfoot!"

"I remember those well," Sam recollected. "At that point, it became harder and harder for me to deny that there were phenomenon that existed well outside the realms of science and logic."

"I guess my whole point is this," Al finished. "The goal of all those leaps wasn't to prove that vampires or Bigfoot existed. It was to save lives. After you completed the mission, it wasn't your goal to worry about a mummy's curse or what Count Dracula is having for breakfast. And as for that warlock with the staff… I don't think he's our concern anymore. Just like with all your leaps in the past, you did your part and completed the mission. Everything else afterwards can take care of itself."

"I suppose you're right, Al," conceded Sam. "I guess I worry too much sometimes."

"What you need to do is relax," encouraged Al. "In a short time, you're gonna be back home! You're gonna get to see Donna again! After all these years of leaping about in time, helping others and putting right what once went wrong, it's time your hard work was rewarded."

oooo

"Here we are," Zoey amiably gestured for Kairos to go ahead of her.

Up ahead of the two travelers was a medieval castle. It stood ominously before them like a dark fortress. But instead of knights at the gates, there were men in uniforms with machine guns.

"Thy graciousness is noted," Kairos walked ahead of her.

"This is where Project Chronos was born," Zoey informed her new master. "To be sure, our origins were humble but soon, under the care of Mr. Vincent Wellington, it became the coordinated scientific research project that we all anticipated."

"This Wellington," asked Kairos. "Is he the time mage who made time travel possible?"

"No actually," replied Zoey. "It was a man named Nathaniel Lothoman who was the originator of Project Chronos. He had a vision for certain but he also required funding. It was Mr. Wellington who became one of his chief sponsors and business partners. And after Dr. Lothoman met a most _unfortunate_ accident, Wellington took over the project and made it what it is today."

"Thy story is most interesting," Kairos said with great interest. "Now let us proceed. I wish to meet Vincent Wellington."

"Right this way," Zoey walked up towards the front door.

"Ma'am," one of the soldiers gave her a nod. "You came back a lot quicker than we had expected."

"I have," confirmed Zoey. "In any case, I've brought a guest with me. "He wishes to meet Mr. Wellington."

"I'm afraid I can't let you in right now," the soldier replied reluctantly. "He's in the middle of a meeting with some very important people."

"And what of my guest?" Zoey spared a glance towards Kairos.

"Whoever he is, he'll have to wait," the guard told her.

"I shalt not wait upon any man," Kairos moved past Zoey towards the guard.

"I'll have to ask you to stay back!" the guard ordered, raising his gun as his partner did the same.

"Put down thy weapon," recommended Kairos. "Thou wilt not regret it."

"This is your last chance to stand back!" ordered the guard. "We can't just let anyone waltz into Project Chronos!"

"Kairos, what are you doing?!" Zoey took a step back, realizing the guards could also hit her with their ammo.

Kairos stopped where he was as the two guards trained their guns on him. Unhooking the hourglass from his time staff, he held the instrument in his hands before his would-be attackers.

"Dost thou understand how the passage of time works?" asked Kairos.

"What does that have to do with anything?" demanded the second guard.

"Seasons come and go," Kairos continued. "Life blooms like a flower and before long, it withers and dies."

With that, Kairos turned the hourglass upside down. The instrument emitted a red glow, catching the two men in a wave of energy. Before long, the two guards found themselves dropping their weapons as their machine guns suddenly felt too heavy to carry any further. Both men sank to their knees as Zoey smiled triumphantly behind Kairos.

Zoey stared in fascination at how the two seemingly spry young men had been aged by up to a hundred years or so by the mere power of the hourglass.

"Now begone!" Kairos shouted, slamming his time staff on to the bridge, this time emitting a wave of energy that reduced the two old men into dust.

"Ashes to ashes," Zoey smiled. "Dust to dust."

"This organization," Kairos asked, "Thou wishes to command it?"

Zoey stared at him in surprise. She had been an ambitious woman for much of her life but this new offer seemed to smack her across the face like a metal glove.

"Why, I'd… like nothing better," Zoey managed to smile.

"Good," Kairos nodded in satisfaction. "I possess no desire to deal with a fool like Wellington who would make us wait. From now on, Project Chronos shall be thine."

oooo

"Sam Beckett!" the US Senator walked up towards the jail cell. "Is that really you?"

Before them was a plump man with white hair and a red nose. He was dressed up in a brown business suit with a green tie to top it off.

"It is," Sam got up. "Have we met before, mister…?"

"Senator O'Neill," the American replied. "I was one of the people in office who approved funding for Project Quantum Leap. We've met before many years ago."

"I remember now," recalled Sam. "You'll forgive me if I didn't recognize you at first. I've been leaping through time for so many years that I've forgotten more faces than I remember."

"It's no problem at all," Senator O'Neill replied. "In fact, I'm happy to learn that your project has become a success and that you've made it back safely."

"Thank you sir," Sam smiled graciously.

"In any case, I've had a discussion with the officials here," Senator O'Neill told them as a guard came up towards the cell with a key. "You'll be released and repatriated back to America shortly."

"Hear that, Al?" Sam grinned. "We're going back home!"

"This is great!" Al was ecstatic. "I bet Beth and the kids are worried sick about me!"

The guard opened up the door as Senator O'Neill helped to usher them out.

"You two are free to go," Senator O'Neill smiled.

"Thank you for your help!" Sam shook the man's hand.

"No problem," O'Neill agreed.

"C'mon, Al!" Sam put his arms around his friend. "Let's get out of here!"

"Good riddance, I say!" Al agreed. "I think I'd rather starve than take another bite out of that prison food they were serving us earlier!"

oooo

Vincent Wellington was a man rich beyond imagination. He was a stocky man with a plain face and light brown hair on his head that was already in the middle stages of receding. On top of that, he wore a black business suit made from the finest fabrics.

Though he had few original ideas of his own, he had a great talent for attaching himself to those people who did possess creative ingenuity and benefiting from the fruits of their inventiveness.

One such person he had associated with in the past was the late Dr. Lothoman. The man wanted to work on a scientific project involving time travel. At first, Wellington had dismissed it as pure science fiction but after being around Nathaniel for a while, he realized that the scientist did indeed have the potential to make it into a reality… provided of course, he had the right funding and resources.

However, as intelligent as Dr. Lothoman had been, his vision of time travel had been very… mundane and technical to say the least. In short, it was not the sort of vision that would have made them rich beyond measure.

And so, after having worked with Lothoman for long enough and learning enough from him to ensure that his "Project Chronos" would be able to continue on even without him, Wellington finally had Lothoman removed from the equation permanently.

But even with Lothoman gone, his blueprints were left behind, in addition to a team of competent scientists who would make sure Project Chronos remained a well oiled machine in the absence of its creator. In honor of the late Dr. Lothoman, Wellington had dubbed the powerful supercomputer that helped to run their project as _Lothos_.

And now? Now he, Vincent Wellington, was potentially the most powerful man in the world, in charge of a weaponized time travel project that had the ability to change the past and alter the present… for whatever price the highest bidder was willing to pay.

Also, he was not alone. In his finely decorated dining hall were a multitude of guests. From black ops agents to corrupt tin pot dictators to rebel extremists in war torn areas of the world, a motley array of colorful guests stood before him. They were a diverse array of scum and villainy, originating from all over the world, from Latin America to Eastern Europe to the Middle East to Asia to Africa.

"Greetings gentlemen," Wellington got up. "I'm quite pleased to have you here with me."

All of his guests began to clap politely.

"Thank you, thank you!" Vincent smile. "I know the reason you are here and I will very pleasantly cut to the chase."

He pressed down on a remote in his hands. As he did, the fireplace behind him slid up to reveal a vast laboratory with multiple scientists working in the background. In the center of the lab appeared to be the quantum accelerator. Not far from it was a door leading to the imaging chamber.

"You are here for Project Chronos," he told his potential customers. "For several millennia, time travel was unheard of. But now, that fantasy has become reality itself."

At this, his guests began murmuring among themselves agreeably.

"Many of you have come from war torn parts of the world," Wellington told his guests, playing upon their emotions and their political ambitions. "Many of you have lost friends and family to your enemies. Many of you are threatened with constant unrest in your homelands with little hope of peace. With the lives you have led, many of you know the true meaning of suffering."

Again, his guests agreed, nodding their heads.

"But with Project Chronos, all of that can change!" Wellington declared to his audience. "Do you remember the rebels who constantly threaten stability in your cities and countrysides? Our agents will traverse through time to eliminate every last one of them! And those soldiers from first world countries who arrived at your shores to kill your sons and ravage your daughters? Our leapers will return to those exact same moments to gun them down where they stand!"

Listening to his promises, the people in his audience began to applaud.

"For the right fee, my scientists in Project Chronos will calculate all possibilities and risks of leaping back in time to those moments," Wellington continued. "And once we have ascertained that our leapers changing your past will not negatively affect any of us in the future, we will journey through time back to the past in order to create a better future for you and your posterity!"

At this point, everybody present was completely in his hands.

"We will make right what once went wrong!" Wellington raised a fist into the air to a thunderous applause.

"Sir," one of the technicians came up to Wellington.

"What is it?" Wellington whispered harshly. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"I know sir," the technician told him. "But we still can't find Zoey or Thames. It's like they vanished into time or something."

"Well work faster and find them!" Wellington insisted. "I have customers here with us and I don't want to keep them waiting! Besides, has Zoey even done her duty and killed that priest?"

"I regret to inform you that she has not," the technician lowered his head. "Dr. Sam Beckett stopped her."

"Go back there and retrieve them!" ordered Wellington. "Do whatever it takes to find those two!"

Turning back towards the dictators, mercenaries, weapons contractors, and rebel fighters in the room, Wellington smiled sheepishly.

"I apologize for the interruption," Wellington told them. "But we are facing some minor technical issues. In the meantime, there is plenty of food and refreshments to be had in the ballroom down the hall to our left. What say we enjoy ourselves for the time being?"

Before he could escort his guests out, the front door flung open to reveal Zoey and Kairos besides her.

"Zoey!" Wellington stared at her in surprise. "Is that you? How did you get back?!"

"Well you could say I exploited a loophole in time to get back home," Zoey smiled coyly.

"Who is this with you?" demanded Wellington, glaring at Kairos. "No outsiders are to have access to Project Chronos without my express permission!"

"So sorry to disappoint you," Zoey wagged a finger at him, "but the rules of the game have changed."

"How dare you return without having completed your assignment!" Wellington ground his teeth together. "And more importantly, how dare you undermine this project by bringing strangers back to our base. Guards, seize them!"

At once, over a dozen or so soldiers surrounded Zoey and Kairos as the dictators, rebels, and mercenaries huddled near Vincent Wellington.

"I gave you a place on this project," Wellington told Zoey, "and I can just as easily remove you permanently."

"We shall see," Zoey replied flippantly.

At once, the time staff in Kairos' hands glowed as he raised his other arm, unleashing a powerful wave of quantum energy that knocked every soldier, dictator, and rogue in that room to the floor, including Wellington himself. Zoey herself held onto Kairos in order to avoid the effects of the attack.

Kairos did not let up on the quantum wave, allowing it to continue seeping across the room, inducing vertigo and other hallucinogenic effects on everyone present. Soon, some of the men fell down unconscious while others began to throw up on the spot due to its powerful effects.

Finally, when he was certain that everybody present had been subdued, he stopped his attack.

Wellington managed to get up, weakly crawling on top of the table to steady himself as Zoey walked over confidently.

"As I have promised," Kairos said to her in his raspy voice. "This organization is now thy own!"

Vincent Wellington glared at Zoey with daggers in his eyes.

"What was that phrase those stooges in Washington like to use every time a tin pot dictator is overthrown?" Zoey smiled at her now-previous boss. "Ah yes, I believe a _regime change_ has just now occurred."

She then faced everybody else in the room who were now recovering from the attack launched by Kairos.

"I have a new vision for Project Chronos," Zoey told them. "With our new ally, Kairos, we will no longer be mere leapers! We will unlock the secrets of space and time itself!"

She glanced over at Kairos who gave his assent with a nod of his head.

"Whoever does not wish to join me, speak now or forever hold your peace," she gave everyone a small warning.

Nobody in that room said anything else.

"Good," Zoey turned around towards some soldiers.

Immediately, they straightened up in preparation to obey her requests.

"You there," she commanded. "Take our dear Mr. Wellington and lock him up in the dungeon below."

"At once, ma'am!" the soldiers saluted.

They picked up the weakened Vincent Wellington and cuffed him from behind, taking him out of the room.

"Thou hast done well, mine apprentice," Kairos smiled as she bowed to him with her head.

"Now," Zoey sauntered over towards Kairos, staring at the rest of the technicians, scientists, and assorted rogues in the room, "there are going to be some changes in the way this organization is run. I suggest you all get with the program from this point forward."

oooo

At the London Heathrow Airport, both Al and Sam sat in their designated waiting areas. Before long, they would be able to depart for America.

Right about now, they still had another forty five minutes of waiting time before their flight would take off.

Besides them was Senator O'Neill. The plump man had been most eager to hear of Sam's time travel experiences.

"It sounds like you've had a hell of a time travelling through time," O'Neill told Sam. "How far back in time did you travel exactly?"

"Well," Sam explained. "Originally, the coordinates of Project Quantum Leap were theoretically able to send me back as far as the day of my birth and not a day further. But at one point, I did make a leap back to the Civil War."

Senator O'Neill looked awestruck.

"That… could have changed history if you made one wrong move," Senator O'Neill sputtered.

"I know… crazy isn't it?" smiled Sam.

"Lucky for Sam, he wasn't there to change the outcome of the war," Al added. "He was there to make sure his grand grandfather and great grandmother would get together!"

"This is making my head spin," admitted the Senator.

"But get this," Al told the Senator. "Sam may not have gone back in time to alter the Civil War… but he did end up granting freedom to someone who would have quite an impact on this country."

"Who was it?" asked O'Neill.

"It was the ancestor of Martin Luther King Jr.," answered Al.

Senator O'Neill looked at Sam as if he had just seen a deer in his headlights.

"I know," Sam nodded. "It came just as much of a surprise to me as it did you."

"Flight A3 to Chicago will begin boarding in thirty minute," a woman over the loudspeaker announced.

"That's us," Al looked up.

Their first stop back in America would be at Chicago's O'Hare airport. From there on, they would make the flight back to New Mexico.

"Hey Al, I just remembered!" Sam perked up. "I need to make a call to Donna! Think you could spare me some change for a long distance phone call?"

Al looked at Sam as if he had just asked him to dance naked in Antarctica.

"Are you kidding me, Sam?" Al was flabbergasted. "You know how much they charge for long distance calls? Especially from a foreign country?!"

"C'mon Al," insisted Sam. "I would gladly pay for it with my own money but I just got back from time with no loose change in my pockets!"

"I know that Sam," Al frowned, "but the rates they charge here… it's highway robbery I tell ya!"

"Back before we left for the bar, didn't you make a call to Beth?" asked Sam.

"Hmm, good point," Al nodded. "Well, I guess I could lend you some spare change."

"Thanks Al," smiled Sam.

"But remember, don't go over three minutes!" Al cautioned as he handed the money to his friend.

"You have my word," promised Sam as he got up and jogged towards one of the pay phones.

After inserting the right amount of change and dialing the correct numbers for the long distance service he was about to use, Sam waited patiently on his end of the line.

Finally, a female voice answered.

"Hello?" Donna asked. "Who is this?"

"Donna, it's me Sam," Dr. Sam Beckett answered happily. "I'm finally coming home!"

**Author's Note**: The backstory on Nathaniel Lothoman and Lothos I incorporated into my story was heavily influenced by what I had read on the Quantum Leap Wiki, which stated that Lothos was based on a deceased Dr. Nathaniel Lothoman who created him. Nowhere on the show itself was Dr. Lothoman mentioned so everything I'm writing is based on my own fan interpretation of how everything went down.


	6. The Return

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_The Return_

Hours had gone by since they had left Britain. Throughout the whole flight, Sam Beckett could not fall asleep despite the fact that Al had dozed off for a good few hours. It had been years since he had been in his own time and he was now eager to go back home and meet his wife Donna once more.

Finally, the plane grounded in the desert landing pad in New Mexico.

"This is it, Al!" Sam smiled, nudging his snoozing partner.

"Huh?" Al woke up. "Wuzzat?"

"We're here, Al!" Sam exclaimed. "Back home to where it all began!"

"Home sweet home!" Al agreed, unlocking his seatbelt.

As the passengers got off the plane, Sam and Al walked through the ramp into the passengers waiting section.

There was a welcoming party that greeted them there. There were a few of the technicians who worked on Project Quantum Leap, in addition to Donna, Gooshie, Tina, and Sammy Jo.

"Welcome back, Dr. Beckett!" Gooshie smiled, waving at the two.

"Welcome back, Al!" Tina ran up, hugging the project observer.

"Whoa there!" Al was a bit taken aback by Tina's enthusiasm. "Easy now, I'm a married man!"

"We were just worried, that's all!" Gooshie told the former naval officer. "After all, you vanished in that imaging chamber and somehow ended up in England!"

"You know, that's a funny story actually," noted Al. "And if I told it to you, you'd think I was a real Looney Toon."

As Al briefed the others on his experiences with customs and the law in England, Sam stared at the woman whom he had been married to for all these years but yet, could not be with.

"Donna…" Sam looked at her.

After what seemed like forever, tears flowed down Donna's face as she ran forward to greet him.

"Oh Sam!" Donna embraced Sam. "I've missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Donna," Sam hugged her tightly.

Finally, the two of them kissed as everyone turned to them. Slowly, Al began to clap as the others followed suit.

oooo

"I must thank you, Kairos," Zoey smiled as she sat comfortably at the dining table with him. "Were it not for you, I would still be leaping from life to life, putting myself at risk just to cause havoc according to Wellington's whims."

Kairos stood next to one of the book shelves, dabbling in one of the many books that were available to him now that Wellington was below in the dungeons.

"No, I must give thanks to thee," Kairos replied in a dark raspy voice as he continued reading one of Wellington's books. "In mine own time, I had planned on putting at my mercy both time and space. But it would seem that such a feat cannot be accomplished by mere sorcery alone. Rather, thou hast led me to a world where the know-how exists to make such a feat possible."

"Yes," Zoey got up. "Speaking of which, from which time era do you hail from?"

Kairos put down the book and stared directly at her. The hood covered most of his face but Zoey could still make out a wrinkled and sallow lower jaw.

"I come from the era known to the people of this present time as the Dark Ages," Kairos informed her.

"What was it like from that bygone era?" asked Zoey. "Modern historians only have fragmented knowledge of that time period at best."

"It was a brutal era," Kairos replied brusquely, "but it is nothing that should concern thee in the present."

"Yes," Zoey agreed quickly, not wishing to agitate him. "We only have the future to look forward to!"

Before the conversation could continue, a soldier entered the room and bowed before the two.

"Ma'am," the soldier addressed her. "The operatives who went to America in order to sabotage Project Quantum Leap have returned."

"Ah yes," Zoey recalled. "It was Wellington who sent them. Let them in."

The soldier bowed and opened the door for Constance and Ramirez.

"Zoey," Constance looked surprised. "I hadn't expected you back so soon."

"Yeah," Ramirez added, staring at Kairos. "Where is Mr. Wellington? And for that matter, who is this guy?"

"Mr. Wellington is no longer acting chairman of Project Chronos as of this moment," Zoey told the two.

"What happened to him?" asked Ramirez plainly.

"He has been permanently replaced," Zoey smiled. "As of this moment, you answer to me."

"You're leading this Project?" Constance was incredulous. "You're not even qualified!"

Zoey snapped her fingers. Immediately, dozens of soldiers entered into the room with their rifles at ready.

"How do you feel about my qualifications now?" asked Zoey.

"They look good to me," Ramirez's eyes widened, realizing now that she was undisputed in her leadership.

"I'm… glad you've moved up on the hierarchy," Constance forced himself to smile. "I look forward to working under you."

"I'm happy to hear that," Zoey told them smugly.

Zoey waved her soldiers away, allowing Constance and Ramirez a brief moment of relief in order to come to terms with the regime change that had just taken place.

"So, how did your mission go?" demanded Zoey.

"Unfortunately the mission was not a success," Ramirez admitted. "We failed to download Lothos into their main core. And we were unable to eliminate the people working on Project Quantum Leap."

"What?" Zoey's voice rose. "Your mission was as simple as could be! How is it that it backfired?"

"We encountered complications along the way," Constance admitted. "One of the workers at Project Quantum Leap was able to alert government forces before we could complete our objectives. Another one of them managed to firewall our attempts to download Lothos into their mainframe."

"But before you get angry," Ramirez said quickly, "we were able to gain a small measure of success!"

"What is that, pray tell?" Zoey asked impatiently.

"One of our men was able to install a spy camera in their base," Constance told her. "Now we can monitor their activities and keep tabs on their project."

"Hmm, perhaps your mission was not a total loss then," Zoey stroked her chin. "You are dismissed."

oooo

"So what was it like working in this setting for all these years?" asked Sam as he entered into the headquarters of Project Quantum Leap.

"Oh, busy, busy, busy," answered Gooshie. "We never knew where your next leap would send you to."

"We didn't exactly get many weekends off either," Al admitted. "Monitoring you was a bit of a full-time job."

"Welcome back, Dr. Beckett," Ziggy, the supercomputer, greeted her creator.

"Ziggy, it's nice to be back," smiled Sam. "Al told me there was an attack on the base while I was gone. You alright now?"

"Oh, I'm quite alright now, Dr. Beckett," the supercomputer replied gleefully. "And we have Sammy Jo Fuller to thank for that."

The young woman next to Sam smiled and waved shyly.

"It's good to have you back, Dr. Beckett!" she said cheerfully.

"Sammy Jo!" Sam exclaimed. "I remember you now!"

In the past, Sammy Jo had been the product of Sam's passionate love affair with the beautiful Abigail Fuller in a previous leap to Louisiana where he had leaped into multiple people in her life. It had come as quite a surprise to him when Al revealed that Sammy Jo was not only his daughter, but also someone who worked with Project Quantum Leap in order to bring him back home.

"Remember me?" Sammy Jo was curious. "But we hardly even got to know each other before you began leaping."

Sam froze. He was unsure if it was a good idea in the here and now to reveal to Sammy Jo that he was her actual father. What if she hated him for not being there for her during her childhood?

With a deep breath, Sam finally decided that he wouldn't tell her his knowledge of her true heritage just yet.

"I, uh, remember you," Sam answered, "because Al told me all about the good work you've done here. It was a stroke of genius, preventing that Lothos virus from downloading itself into our mainframe with your state-of-the-art firewall!"

"I knew when I joined this project that I was signing on to something great… something that would change history," Sammy Jo admitted. "It was almost like destiny."

Sam and Al glanced at each other furtively. Sammy Jo signing on for Project Quantum Leap did indeed appear to be the work of destiny.

"We couldn't be more happy to have you on board," Sam smiled, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Now that you're back, you know what this calls for?" Tina entered the room with several wine bottles. "This calls for a celebration!"

"I agree!" added Gooshie. "A toast to Project Quantum Leap! Hip hip hurray!"

"I need to talk with Al for a second," Sam gestured for Al to come with him. "I'll catch up with you guys soon!"

As everybody else in the room began to partake in their share of food and refreshments Sam and Al entered into a separate room.

"What's up, Sam?" asked Al.

"I was wondering," Sam closed the door behind them. "Now that Project Quantum Leap has been proven to be a success, what comes next?"

"You're not planning on stepping back inside the accelerator again, are you?" Al gaped at him.

"No, no," Sam admitted. "It's just that we still have some of those other leapers out there like Zoey. Even if she's not around anymore, those guys probably have an entire organization dedicated to making wrong what we've made right."

"Oh yeah, almost forgot about them," Al frowned.

"They have the potential to undo all the progress we've made," Sam told his friend. "There's got to be some way to stop them."

"Remember Sam," Al reminded him. "We can only fix the wrongs they've caused with you going back into a life of leaping. Do you really want to go back to that again?"

"At first I told myself that getting home was my first priority," Sam sighed. "But over time, I think I got so used to leaping that it became second nature to me. After a while, it really became my heart's desire to make right what once went wrong. Leaping became my life, Al."

"Wow, you're completely serious, aren't you?" Al asked.

"I guess I am," acknowledged Sam.

"So what do you want to do?" Al was curious.

"I'm not completely sure Al," Sam replied. "This may get Donna really angry and concerned again, but I was hoping Project Quantum Leap could work out a way where I could continue leaping but be able to come back home at the end of the day."

"Kind of like a regular nine to five job?" asked Al.

"When you put it that way, yeah… I guess so."

"What you're asking is risky, Sam," Al pointed out. "Remember that it was only a freak accident that sent you back here. Plus even up to now, we still don't have the technology or the know-how to bring back a leaper… you in this case."

"So what you're saying is…" Sam asked inquisitively.

"What I'm saying is that you shouldn't be in a hurry to leap back in there," Al replied emphatically. "You're back in your own time with your family and friends. Cherish those while you still got 'em."

"You're right Al," Sam conceded. "I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe all those years of leaping around in time have given me a hero complex and I don't know when to switch it off."

"Hey, it's perfectly understandable," Al reassured him. "There have been multiple reports of soldiers coming back to civilian life but yet don't know when or even how to switch off the military side of their personalities."

"Yeah, I just need time to assimilate back into my old life," Sam acknowledged.

"Well you'll have plenty of opportunities for that," Al grabbed on to one of his coats. "You and Donna have got some catching up to do. And speaking of which, I gotta get back home to Beth and the kids. Besides, it's taco night… can't miss that."

"I know," smiled Sam as he shook Al's hand and gave his friend a short hug. "Have a good time with your family tonight, Al."

"You too, Sam!" Al said encouragingly.

oooo

"I don't believe this," Zoey looked at the monitor that had just detailed the interaction between Sam and Al. "Most leapers would give an arm or a leg to return to their own time. And yet, here Sam Beckett is… wanting to go back in time again to give everybody their fairytale endings."

While the soldiers they had sent to sabotage Project Quantum Leap had failed for the most part, they did manage to successfully install a few hidden cameras throughout the lab. Thanks in no small part to that, Zoey had managed to catch the conversation that had gone on between Sam Beckett and Al Calavicci.

As Zoey continued on with her angry rant, Kairos sat there contemplatively, seemingly lost in thought.

"I can't believe the nerve of that fool," Zoey finished. "What is your take on all of this, Lord Kairos?"

"Sam Beckett wishes to continue leading the life he so desires?" Kairos got up. "That may easily be arranged."

With that, he turned and walked down the hall towards the main laboratory of Project Chronos.

"Where are you headed?" Zoey ran up next to him.

"Take me to Lothos," Kairos told her plainly.

"Very well, but what do you need him for?" she asked.

"As thou hast told me before, Lothos is the supercomputer who is able to run this entire organization and its operations," Kairos replied. "I have use for it."

Without another word, Lothos walked towards the supercomputer that housed Lothos and all the information he possessed.

"So what now?" asked Zoey.

Taking hold of the hourglass on top of his time staff, Lothos pulled it off and presented it to the woman.

"Take hold of this," Kairos said to her.

"You want me to hold this?" asked Zoey.

"Thou art mine apprentice now," Kairos informed her. "In order for thou to learn my secrets, thou must become acquainted with the powers which I alone possess."

"Very well then," Zoey took the hourglass in her hand.

"Consider this a present," Kairos put his hand on the hourglass and channeled mystical energy into the device.

Soon, the device shrunk until it was about small enough to be worn. A leather chord appeared across the pendant.

"Wear this, mine apprentice," ordered Kairos, "and the powers of time and space shall be unlocked for thee."

"I thank you, your eminence," Zoey smiled, bowing to her new master.

With the hourglass taken care of, Kairos turned his attention back to Lothos. He raised his time staff high into the air and began chanting.

"_Per vox of sand_," he chanted in Latin, "_per vox of vicis ipsum_!"

At once, red electricity crackled around the sorcerer's time staff. The technicians and workers noticed what was going on and backed away from their work stations as electricity crackled throughout the machines.

"Zoey, what's going on here?" one of the workers demanded.

"Hush now," she smiled. "Let Kairos do his work."

"_Ego voco vos, phantasmis of Lothos_!" Kairos continued. "_Ego voco phantasmis quod infus is per sand!_"

Slowly, the time staff floated into the air as it hovered over the computer that was Lothos. Several memory chips and other assorted metals flew into the air, surrounding the time staff of Kairos.

"_Fio unus per phantasmis of vicis_!" Kairos declared. "_Fio unus per vicis baculus_!"

At that moment, an all-consuming light blinded everyone in the room. However, once everybody got their bearings again, they saw Kairos standing there with the time staff in his hand. Instead of the wooden carved staff they had seen before, the staff was infused with all the attributes of Lothos. Now composed almost entirely of black metal, the time staff now dotted with a red crystal at its top while silvery metallic plating lined the rest of weapon. Advanced circuitry and wiring also showed through some of the plating.

The combination of both technology and the mystic arts was now complete.

"Lothos and the time staff are now one," Kairos declared.

"I have to say," Zoey smirked. "I really admire your handiwork!"

oooo

At their New Mexico compound, Sam and Donna held each other as they gazed up into the stars and stood together near the balcony.

"It's all coming back to me now," Sam recalled. "Now that my brain isn't Swiss cheesed anymore, I remember coming back here before. Then I had to return to save Al. It's true, isn't it?"

"Yes," Donna held on to him tightly.

"I'm sorry Donna," Sam whispered. "I'm so, so sorry putting you through that again."

"You did what you had to do to save your friend," Donna finally acknowledged. "None of us could ask you to do otherwise."

"I've also been with other women during my leaps," Sam admitted shamefully. "During those times, I had no idea I was married. Why couldn't Al have just told me?"

"Because if he had, you wouldn't have been able to complete your mission," Donna told him reluctantly. "I was the one who told him not to tell you."

"You did?" Sam looked at her quizzically. "Why?"

"Because if you knew that you were married," Donna explained to him, "and the mission required you to romance a certain woman, would you have done it? Would you have been able to leap out of there and gotten one step closer to coming home?"

Sam looked down momentarily, reflecting on what she had said.

"No," he admitted. "I couldn't have done it. If I remembered my marriage to you, there's no way I would have had relations with any other woman. And I wouldn't have been able to leap if romance had been part of my mission."

"You did what you had to do to leap," Donna told him with an understanding look. "As much as it pained me to know there were other women in your life, I also knew that in order for you to come home, sacrifices had to be made."

"I did what I had to do," Sam told her. "But it wasn't truly what I wanted."

He caressed her face.

"I wanted to be with you," he said gently.

"Oh Sam!" Donna cried as tears poured down her face.

"Could you find it in your heart to forgive me?" he asked, hugging her.

"Yes!" she embraced him. "I love you, Sam Beckett!"

"And I love you, Donna Eleese-Beckett!"

The time for talk had passed. Sam clasped her face and entered into a deep heart-felt kiss with his wife.


	7. Relapse

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Relapse_

"Good morning everyone," Sam, alongside Donna, walked into the room where most of the leaders of Project Quantum Leap sat.

"Morning Sam," Gooshie waved.

Al, Tina, Gooshie, and Sammy Jo were all there. Though Sammy Jo ranked lower on the workplace totem pole than the rest of them, she was still included since she played an instrumental role in defending the base in recent times.

That, plus she was Sam Beckett's biological daughter.

"Well, I think we all know why I'm calling this meeting," Sam looked at everyone across the room.

"I have a general idea," Al crossed his fingers together.

"Now that Quantum Leaping has proven to be a success," Sam told everyone, "I want to discuss the future of this project."

Sam looked around the room once more.

"Who'd like to start?" he asked.

Gooshie was the first to speak up.

"First things first," Gooshie admitted. "Running an experimental project like this for years required a lot of funding and support. We're indebted to a lot of Senators right now and if this project is to have any kind of future, we're going to need a much bigger budget."

"How much did Project Quantum Leap cost altogether?" asked Sam curiously.

"Well, uh…" Gooshie tugged a bit at his collar while sweating nervously.

"Go on, tell him!" Tina insisted.

"Sometimes it's better to show than to tell," Gooshie took out a several documents and then handed them over to Sam.

Sam took a cursory glance at how much money it took to maintain the project. And as expected, the cost was astronomical.

"Oh boy!" Sam's jaw dropped.

"It wasn't cheap Sam," Al reminded him. "But remember, we were able to do a lot of good with Project Quantum Leap."

"I, uh, think we should move on to our next topic," Sam smiled sheepishly. "What comes next?"

Al was the next person to speak up.

"Well, now that Quantum Leap is a proven success, there are going to be politicians and powerful lobbying groups who are going to be eager to make claims to this project," Al pointed out.

"We can't exactly auction this project off to the highest bidder," Sam frowned.

"Exactly," agreed Al. "And who knows what one of those big wigs in office will want to do with this Project."

"When word gets out that Project Quantum Leap can change history," Sam said soberly, "there are going to be a lot of people lining up to try to make that happen."

"Those people already exist," Al shook his head. "We've already got that other leaping project out there, based on the research and work of Dr. Lothoman."

"What will we do about them?" asked Sammy Jo. "They've already made an attack on our base. There's no telling what they might do next."

"We could always hire more security?" Tina suggested.

"Not with the budget we're running on these days," Gooshie sighed.

"What is there to do then?" asked Sammy Jo.

"We wait and see," Sam told her. "That's about all we can do right now."

"I have another issue to bring up," Sammy Jo glanced around at everyone.

"Go on," Sam nodded.

"Will we ever send another test subject into the accelerator again?" asked Sammy Jo. "After everything Dr. Beckett's been through, it could take years to bring them back. And in Dr. Beckett's case, it was only a freak accident that brought him back, not by any breakthrough on our part."

Al looked over at Sam who appeared to be a bit nervous.

"I… don't know," Sam admitted. "While this project has done a lot of good for a lot of people through history, there are a lot of other factors to consider. And before we even think about sending another person into the accelerator, we need to conduct further research to make sure we've covered all our bases."

oooo

Zoey and Kairos sat before the monitor that highlighted the base for Project Quantum Leap in New Mexico, made possible by the spy camera installed there by their agents. Watching with great interest, she noted that Sam Beckett was now having a meeting regarding the future of Project Quantum Leap.

"So now he realizes there's no going back with leaping being a reality," she sneered.

Kairos merely snorted.

"The man creates a Pandora's Box, opens it, and now he's just realizing the dangers?" Zoey smiled. "As smart of a man Dr. Beckett may be, he really doesn't give much forethought to the things he does."

"The idealism of his nature can be turned against him," Kairos noted. "Despite the hardships he has faced through his leaping, he has never truly known suffering. Soon, Samuel Beckett will realize that he has walked down a path from whence he can never return."

"What will you do now?" asked Zoey.

"I have read up enough on this Sam Beckett," Kairos answered. "I only ask of thee now to depart from here and wait upon me in the lower levels. I shall take care of the rest."

"Very well," Zoey bowed, leaving the room.

oooo

"Well that meeting went well," Sam stood in the central room with Donna.

Everybody was outside, preparing to go to lunch. In a few moments, he and Donna would join them as well.

"You did the best you could with the circumstances," Donna reassured him. "You just got back and we're all trying to figure out what to do with all this knowledge we have."

"I know," Sam smiled weakly. "I've finally gotten home and I should be happy! Instead, my mind's bogged down by all these concerns over the ethics of this project and how it might be misused later on!"

"There may be future challenges," Donna reminded him. "But we can face them together!"

"You're right," Sam acknowledged. "I really just need to get my head back together, that's all."

"You know I'm here for you, Sam!" Donna told him.

"I guess I'm like one of those soldiers who just came back from a war," Sam told her. "I've been leaping around for so long, I don't know what living a normal life is like anymore."

"I can help you back into it," insisted Donna. "_We_ can help you back into it! I can help you. Your friend Al can help you. We can do it together!"

"Thanks Donna," Sam hugged her. "I know I can count on you."

"You know you can," she smiled back.

"Why don't you catch up with the others?" Sam told her. "I got some catching up I want to do with Ziggy."

The two kissed each other and Donna left the room to join the others.

"Ziggy?" Sam called out. "You there?"

The blue orb that was Ziggy's brain glowed as the supercomputer came to life.

"I'm here at your beck and call, doctor," she told him.

"That's good to know," Sam smiled.

"It's also good to see you back home," Ziggy told him. "Donna looked especially happy to see you again."

"It's great to be home," Sam replied.

"What is it that you'd like to speak to me about?" asked Ziggy.

"Back when I was still leaping, you were able to calculate a lot of probabilities for me," Sam told her. "In all this time, I don't know if you ever got upgraded to calculate probabilities outside of past events."

"You mean to ask me if I can calculate probabilities in the present?" asked Ziggy.

"More or less," Sam confirmed.

"That ability… remains outside my scope," answered the supercomputer. "Calculating probabilities for changing the past was my specialty. With past events, I had enough information from newspapers, historical archives, and other reliable sources that I could safely predict the probabilities of changing history."

"I see," Sam nodded.

"I cannot predict the future, Dr. Beckett," Ziggy concluded.

"Well alright," Sam shrugged. "Thanks anyways, Ziggy."

"You wish to protect this project against future incursions or abuses?" asked Ziggy.

"Yeah, it's been on my mind," replied Sam. "You never know when one of those leapers from that other project will show up."

Suddenly, Sam found himself surrounded by a familiar blue aura for a second.

"What was that?" Sam looked at his own hands in alarm.

"I am uncertain," Ziggy replied. "But it would appear that for a moment, you were surrounded by the same aura that you had back when you were leaping through time."

"No, this can't be," Sam said in a worried tone. "I just made it back to my own time!"

Again, the blue aura appeared around him once more.

"Ziggy, what's going on here?" demanded Sam.

"Unfortunately, I do not have the answer, Dr. Beckett," Ziggy answered truthfully.

"Ziggy, trace all quantum particles for this aura," Sam ordered. "If I leap out of here again, I want the others to—"

Those were the final words Sam were able to get out before the aura completely covered him and leaped him out of the area.

oooo

Vincent Wellington sat in his jail cell despondently, rocking back and forth against the wall. He had gone from being one of the world's most dangerous and powerful men to a mere prisoner in only a short time.

If anyone was to blame, it was that wretched Zoey. She had been the one who brought that stranger back and overthrew him. In time, he needed to figure out a plan to escape. Then he would find a way to seize back control of his organization.

The sound of gunfire and screams down the hall was heard before long as Wellington perked up his head.

"Mr. Wellington?"

Right in front of his cell were two soldiers who had previously served under him before his ignominious overthrow.

"Constance!" Wellington cried out. "Ramirez! What are you two—"

"We're getting you out of here, sir," Constance told his boss. "You're the real boss of this project and you're the one we answer to."

"It's good to see not all of my soldiers have lost their marbles," Wellington smiled.

Ramirez took out the keys to the jail cell and opened it up. As Wellington stepped out, he noticed the bodies of several other soldiers lying on the floor.

"Zoey may be calling the shots now… but she's crazy!" Ramirez told his boss. "You, Mr. Wellington, have a better head on your shoulders than she does, which is why you're the one who headed this project for all those years and not her."

The three of them headed down the hall. Constance took the front lead ahead of Wellington while Ramirez guarded his rear.

"First things first," Ramirez told his superior. "We need to overthrow Zoey and that weirdo she's hanging out with. Then we reinstall you back to power."

"Sounds like an agreeable plan," Wellington nodded. "How will we execute it?"

"Oh, you won't," a familiar voice rang out.

Just as the three men got to the staircase, they saw Zoey standing before them with a devious grin.

"I'll be executing you," she promised them.

"Zoey, just the person I was hoping to bump into," Constance took out his handgun.

Not bothering to exchange any more words, Constance fired several rounds into Zoey, knocking her against the wall. As Zoey slid down the wall with blood pouring down her dress, Constance chuckled.

"Now for that weirdo upstairs," Constance snorted.

Without warning, Zoey sprung back to life, seemingly floating back on her feet.

"What the hell?" Constance took a step back.

The hourglass necklace around her neck glowed softly as Zoey placed her hands over her wounds, healing them instantly and causing the bullets to fall out onto the ground. In no time at all, the life threatening wounds Constance had inflicted upon her fully disappeared.

"Protect Mr. Wellington at all costs!" Constance ordered.

Ramirez took out a knife and charged Zoey. As he swung down, Zoey caught his arm and grabbed his face with her other hand.

At once, the hourglass began to glow once more as Zoey slowly drained the life force out of Ramirez. The soldier could do nothing but scream and struggle helplessly as he felt himself age and wither while he was being held down.

"That was rejuvenating!" Zoey finally let go of Ramirez.

Now reduced to nothing but a withered corpse, Ramirez fell to the ground lifelessly. At the same time, both Constance and Wellington saw before them a much younger and rejuvenated woman without the wrinkles and sagging face that Zoey once possessed.

"You're younger now," Wellington was taken aback by both her beauty and ruthlessness. "How?!"

Zoey ignored Wellington and walked past him, advancing menacingly towards Constance who raised his gun towards her.

"I've read up on your genealogy," Zoey told Constance in a much younger voice. "It seems that the men of your family are prone to heart attacks around the age of fifty."

With that, she raised her hand and enveloped him with a dark red energy. At once, Constance clutched his chest as an immediate pain came upon him.

"Aging your heart about thirty years should do the trick," she smiled.

"Aaaagh!" screamed Constance as he fell to the floor, dropping his gun.

After several moments of thrashing about wildly and breathing heavily, Constance stopped moving. His heart was no longer able to bear the pain. And neither was his body.

Looking on in horror, Wellington backed away from Zoey as she stood over the fresh corpse of Constance.

"You," Zoey commanded Wellington. "Back in your cell!"

"But…" Wellington stood there, nearly speechless.

Before Wellington knew it, Zoey had lifted him up and smashed him against the wall. Whatever the source of her newfound strength and power was, it was most certainly unnatural.

"I'm free to deal with insurrectional soldiers on my own," Zoey reminded him. "However, Kairos had given me no such orders to execute you just yet. Now be a good lad and return to your cage."

Defeated, Wellington could not do anything other than to follow her orders. With his shoulders sunken low, Vincent Wellington headed back to his cell as Zoey watched with a satisfied smirk.

oooo

After the blue light that enveloped him had finally disappeared, Sam looked up and noticed that he was on the tower of a castle out in the middle of nowhere.

"Where am I?" he looked around.

From out of the shadows emerged a familiar figure Sam had seen before.

"You!" Sam exclaimed. "You were the one who brought me back to my own time!"

"I was," Kairos replied.

"Just who are you?" asked Sam.

"Mine name is Kairos," the robed figure replied. "I am the one thou may know as the gatekeeper of time."

"Gatekeeper?" Sam asked. "You mean… you're Father Time?"

"I am," Kairos lied. "I brought thee back to thy own time because of the sacrifices thou has made for others in all thy leaps."

"Well then Kairos," Sam sighed. "I suppose there's a reason why I've been leaped once again?"

"Yes," confirmed Kairos. "It had been mine intention to send thou back to thy own time. However, I am now an old and frail man and my powers over time are not what they used to be."

"I, uh, I'm sorry to hear that," Sam frowned.

"But thou can help me," Kairos put his hand on Sam's shoulder. "I fear I have not much time left in this mortal coil. With thy infinite knowledge of time travel, thou can aid my efforts in stabilizing time and space. The magic I possess alone will not suffice."

Suddenly, Kairos leaned over and began to cough violently.

"Hey," Sam went over quickly to help Kairos up. "Are you alright?"

"Fear not," Kairos shook his head. "As a time mage, I have seen much over the course of history. However, not even I can fight against the sands of time."

"Here, let me help you walk," Sam told him.

"I thank thee, Sam Beckett," Kairos smiled underneath his hood.

"What is that in your other hand?" Sam inquired about the staff in Kairos' hand.

"It is the time staff," Kairos informed him. "It is the source of mine power. But even now, it dims with each passing moment."

"Let's get you downstairs for hopefully some rest," Sam steadied the body of Kairos alongside his own, helping the elderly time mage to walk down the steps.

"I shalt do everything within my power to aid you in returning to thy home," promised Kairos.

"Thanks," Sam responded. "Oh yeah, speaking of which, whatever became of that woman Zoey and her partner?"

"Those two have received just compensation for attempting to wreak havoc across time," Kairos replied in a stern voice.

oooo

"I'm sorry," Ziggy replied. "But Dr. Beckett has not travelled back in time."

After having realized that Sam wasn't coming out, the gang had returned only to find that Sam Beckett was no longer there amongst them. Unfortunately for them, Ziggy had immediately informed them that Sam had been surrounded once more by the leapers' aura and had disappeared once more.

"Are you sure?" asked Al. "Everything checks out?"

"Affirmative," confirmed Ziggy.

"Where could he have gone to?" Donna paced back and forth. "I've had to live for years without him and now that he's finally back, he gets taken from me again!"

"Don't worry Donna," Al went up to her. "We'll get to the bottom of this!"

"Before Dr. Beckett was leaped away, he ordered me to trace the particles of the leapers aura that surrounded him," Ziggy explained to them.

"And?" asked Al Calavicci.

"I can confirm with ninety nine point six percent certainty that Dr. Beckett has not leaped back in time," Ziggy replied matter-of-factly.

Donna bit down on her lower lip nervously, wondering where in the world her husband had disappeared to.

"Wait," Sammy Jo entered into the conversation. "What if we're not looking in the right place?"

"What do you mean?" asked Al.

"Ziggy's scans so far haven't shown him to be back in any era of the past," Sammy Jo told them. "What if Dr. Beckett wasn't transported to the past?"

"So you're saying that Sam could be…" Al looked at her curiously.

"He could have been transported to another location outside of this base," Sammy Jo explained. "For all we know, he could have been transported back in his old childhood home… another part of the country… or even another part of the world."

"Is this a plausible explanation?" Al looked at Donna, Tina, and Gooshie.

"It's… the only one we have," Gooshie conceded. "I mean, if Ziggy can't locate Sam in any era of the past, it would only make sense he'd still be here somewhere."

"Ziggy," ordered Al. "Run a scan based on the quantum particles Sam left behind. Scan the entire perimeters of this base… then the State… then the country… then the whole damn continent if you have to."

"I will do my utmost best," promised Ziggy. "However, I must inform you that such a search and scan mission will be quite time consuming in order to fully gauge the whereabouts of Dr. Beckett."

"This is Sam we're talking about," Al replied without hesitation. "When it comes to him, we can and we will make time!"


End file.
